Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 34.72 points higher at 4,224.83. Banking stocks again top the risers’ board, RBS adds 9.5%, Lloyds climbs 7.9% and Barclays rises 4.8%. Hammerson and Land Securities improve after Morgan Stanley recommended that investors buy the shares.

Posted: January 30th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 50.88 points lower at 4,244.32. Xstrata leads mining companies and the market lower, losing almost 14% of its value after announcing plans to raise $5.9 billion through a heavily discounted two-for-one rights issue. Rio Tinto drops 7% while Kazakhmys slides 6.3%. Shares in Smith & Nephew rise 2.1 percent, putting them among the top gainers, after Goldman Sachs upgrades the medical device company to “buy” from “neutral” and adds it to its “conviction buy” list.

Posted: January 29th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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The annual index-linked increase to the limits for employment rights payments comes into effect on 1 February 2009.
The main limits increased are:

Amount of a weeks pay (for e.g. redundancy calculation & unfair dismissal basic award) from £330 to £350
Unfair dismissal compensatory award - from £63,000 to £66,200
Statutory guarantee payments (per day) - from £20.40 to [...]

Posted: January 29th, 2009 under Employment/HR.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 70.22 points higher at 4,264.63. Financials again lead the way after Citigroup recommended investors buy Lloyds Banking Group, saying the risk of dilution was “exaggerated”. Lloyds rallies 38%, Barclays climbs 11% and RBS rises 7.7%. Kingfisher leads retailers higher, up 5.3%, after Citigroup upgraded seven UK companies, citing an improved outlook for household companies. Home Retail adds 4.9%, while Marks & Spencer is up 5.2% and Next rises 3.8%. Miners fill the fallers’ board after Vedanta reported poor quarterly figures, shares in the India focused miner are currently 8.1% lower. Xstrata loses 7.8% while Rio Tinto falls 4%. Tate & Lyle slides 5.6% after warning of lower full year profit.

Posted: January 28th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 is currently 21.55 points lower at 4,187.46. Severn Trent is the biggest faller, down 5.3%, after saying falling consumption would have a greater impact on sales. British Land loses 3.1% after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its conviction sell list. Wolseley continues to slide, down 5.3%, following weak results announced yesterday. Financials top the risers’ board after Barclays sent a letter to staff and shareholders that rejected the need for a bail-out and repeated profit forecasts. Shares in Barclays are the strongest performing in the blue chip index, up 13.1%, RBS adds 12.5% and Lloyds climbs 12.1%. HSBC does not follow suit however, off 0.3%, as rumours that the bank needs to raise capital persisted.

Posted: January 27th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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