Legal and General attracts short selling
Continued speculation that Legal and General will need to tap the market for additional funds in the short term has further undermined the shares today. Despite assurances from the group that it has in excess of £1.6 billion available to cover any potential shortfall, as well as news that the credit default assumption has been increased by £650 million, this has done nothing to calm market nerves. News that experienced short seller Crispin Odey is targeting the company has also increased investor nervousness.
The company is adamant that it does not require additional funding and the dividend is not at risk at this moment in time. However, with the UK stock market down around 3.3% today there are concerns that further pressure on investments will squeeze the gap between financial requirements and financial comfort. There is also a growing belief that the new regulatory guidelines, which force short sellers to reveal their positions at certain levels, are potentially backfiring amid growing investor concern.
After a period of relative calm the UK financial sector is under severe pressure again with a growing feeling that the money pumped into the sector by the UK government is having little or no impact. The future is very uncertain and many investors are ditching their shares at highly distressed prices.
Share this..
Related stories
Insolvencies fall to lowest level in 10 years
29/04/2015 The numbers of insolvencies in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest rate in almost a decade. Figures from the Insolvency Service have shown that 20,826 people became insolvent in the first three months of the year, which is the lowest figure since autumn 2005. It works out as a fall of 18.6% compared to the first three months of 2014, which is one of the steepest declin...
Read MoreIs the Conservative Party tax policy in disarray?
There are signs that tonight that the Conservative Party's taxation policy could be in disarray with Boris Johnson highly critical of the possibility that the new Labour 45p tax band could form part of a Tory government in 2010. While David Cameron and George Osborne have been very upfront about their views regarding the 45p tax band, which they believe will be required to pay down the national de...
Read MoreDid the UK government push Lloyds Bank into acquiring HBOS?
While Gordon Brown has today issued a statement confirming that he has "no regrets at all" with regards to his intervention to speed up the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds bank many are concerned at Gordon Brown's role in the affair. This comes at a time when Lloyds Bank is looking at losses approaching £10 billion from the newly acquired HBOS operation. When the merger of the two operations was initi...
Read MoreGovernment refuses to amend pension credit terms
The UK government has steadfastly refused to change the terms and conditions regarding calculations used to determine pension credits and the overall pension payments available to those in the UK. While we have covered this on a number of occasions on the site, it is a little-known fact that when taking into account savings the UK government assumes an interest rate of 10.4% is payable on savings...
Read MoreRetail sales up but can we believe the figures?
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK retail sales increased by 0.4% in July compared to sales in June. Not only was the increase in July more than expected but it also takes the annual rise in UK retail sales to 3.3%. It is also worth remembering that June was a very strong month and the increase in July is more impressive due to this very fact.
However, as...