Lloyds Banking Group has today confirmed it is considering a rights issue, in order to repair its balance sheet which was battered following the takeover of rival HBOS, as well as avoiding participating in the Government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS). There has been speculation that the bank, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, has [...]
British Airways (BA), which recently admitted was fighting for its survival, has today announced plans to raise £600 million. In May, the airline reported a pre-tax loss of £401 million for the 12 months to the end of March, compared with profits of £922 million the previous year. The loss represented the biggest since the [...]
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has reported that like-for-like sales were up 7.8% for the 12 week period to 13 June. The news comes just a day after fellow supermarket Tesco posted a 4.3% rise in quarterly sales and said it had made a “solid” start to its financial year. Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s, which is Britain’s third-largest supermarket, [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is to embark on a £4 billion fundraising exercise which follows the news that chairman Sir Victor Blank is to step down in June 2010. The £4 billion fundraising comes amid high profile changes at the bank and sees chief executive Eric Daniels’ position ‘in doubt‘. Both directors have faced criticism from [...]
Barclays has received further offers for its iShares business despite agreeing to sell off the division to private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners, last month for £3 billion. However, under the terms of the agreement, Barclays had the right to seek a higher bidder within a 45 day period. As a result, private equity groups [...]
Barclays Bank has reported a 15% rise in pre-tax profits for the first three months of the year despite the financial maelstrom. The bank posted pre-tax profits £1.37 billion, primarily due to its Barclays Capital investment banking division. John Varley, Barclays chief executive, said the good performance “the continued benefit of diversification. We generated strong [...]
The world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, Vestas, has had to make quick changes in order to cope with reduced global demand, as commitments made to green energy and to increase green electricity has not translated into higher turbine sales. As a result, the company has announced it will be cutting 1,900 jobs split across [...]
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has exceeded analysts expectations by announcing a $1.8 billion (£1.2 billion) net profit for the three months ending 27th March. In the previous quarter, Goldman posted its first quarterly loss since going public in 1999. The markets are expected to respond positively to the results, which kicks-off some much needed good [...]
Last month, Barclays declined financial assistance from the UK Government and instead announced it was to raise £7.3 billion, primarily from Middle East investors. However, Barclays’ shareholders were believed to be infuriated at the generous terms offered to overseas investors and, as a result, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) was asked to get involved [...]
Barclays, Britain’s third largest bank, has revealed plans for a £701 million share issue in a bid to finalise the acquisition of Lehman Brothers’ core assets. It is also planning to raise £600 million from existing shareholders. The combined £1.3 billion will allow Barclays to finalise the deal and boost the bank’s capital strength, which [...]
Britain’s third biggest bank, Barclays, has announced it has secured £4.5 billion from investors to shore up its balance sheet but ordinary shareholders only took 19% of new shares offered at 282p each. Shares in Barclays fell a little over 2% to 284p in early trading this morning. The majority of the shares were sold [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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