Markets
London - The FTSE 100 jumped 81.22 points to 6,001.20 on Friday as London Stock Exchange Group Plc opened more than four hours late after a technical glitch halted trading. LSE moved its main market to the MillenniumIT trading platform on February 14th after three months of delays. Turquoise, the first of the exchange’s markets to make the change, had glitches on its first day of trading in October and the next day was forced to postpone the market open. Friday’s outage follows the February 22nd delay to the start of trading on the Italian stock exchange, which is owned by LSE and runs its old system. Borsa Italiana opened 6 1/2 hours late, two hours before the close.

Posted: February 28th, 2011 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa hit UK stocks on Thursday, though rising crude prices and upbeat comments from BP in its Indian activities lifted energy stocks. The FTSE100 closed 3.55 points lower at 5919.98.

Posted: February 25th, 2011 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 slumped 73.23 points to 5,923.53 yesterday after Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi vowed to fight a growing rebellion. Governments rushed to evacuate thousands of expatriates from Libya as army units defected and a former aide to Qaddafi warned that the revolt may topple the regime within days. The holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves is the latest nation to be rocked by protests ignited by last month’s ouster of Tunisia’s president and fanned by the Feb. 11 fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Posted: February 24th, 2011 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 fell 18.04 points to 5,996.76 yesterday amid speculation that political instability in the Middle East will cause higher inflation, weakening the economic recovery and curbing earnings. Although equities recovered some of the losses as a government report in the U.S. showed confidence among consumers rose in February to the highest level in three years as Americans became more optimistic about their incomes and the economy.

Posted: February 23rd, 2011 under Asset Management.
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Markets
London - The FTSE 100 dropped 68.19 points to 6,014.80 as investors speculated unrest in Libya will cause energy prices to climb, curbing economic growth. Bank shares fell as demand overnight loans from the European Central Bank was elevated for a third day, holding close to a 20-month high. Banks borrowed EUR14.2 billion via the ECB’s marginal lending facility on February 18th, down from 16 billion euros on February 17th, which was the most since June 2009. The ECB charges banks 1.75% for overnight loans, 75 basis points more than in its main refinancing operations. Barclays fell 2.2% to 322.25 pence. Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 3.9% to 46.64 pence. Royal Bank of Scotland is preparing to sell $1.6 billion of unwanted loans left over from when the commercial-property sector was booming, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Posted: February 22nd, 2011 under Asset Management.
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