RBS, Lloyds strong on FTSE |
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| Strategic Finance | |
| Written by Gary Howes | |
| Friday, 03 July 2009 | |
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London has shrugged off a poor close on Wall Street, which is closed today in order to observe tomorrows Independence Day.
The FTSE 100 is up slightly this morning in defiance of yesterday's close on Wall Street (See INDEXFTSE:.FTSE). The Dow Jones slumped more than 200 points Thursday as the market reacted badly to poor jobs data. Banks are a strong spot, despite chancellor Alistair Darling firing a warning about the re-emergence of the bonus culture. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds are both well ahead. RBS (LON:RBS) is 0.47% up at 9:33am, Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) is up 0.55%. Company news is limited this morning. BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) has agreed to sell its Yabulu nickel refinery for an undisclosed sum after writing down its value by US$675m. Friends Provident is lower ahead of its demerger of FCAM. Engineer and construction contractor Balfour Beatty has traded in line with expectations since its previous update in May. It attributed the steadiness of the ship to continued infrastructure spending by customers, acquisitions and tight control of costs. Oil and gas firm Salamander has spudded the Phu Kheng-1 exploration well in Block L27/43, Northeast Thailand. "Phu Kheng-1 has the potential to open up a new play in the Khorat basin,” said chief executive James Menzies. Ireland's premier bank, Bank of Ireland, has warned it is facing a squeeze on profit margins in addition to the huge impairment charges it will take this year and next. "Demand for new lending remains muted and the lower interest rate environment together with the impact on deposit pricing of more intense competition has resulted in pressure on liability spreads," it said in a trading update.
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