Stockbrokers urge private investors not to ditch banking shares
Despite the fact that the UK banking sector is yet again at the centre of a controversial move by the authorities, stockbrokers in the UK have urged private investors not to ditch their shares. The US government has introduced not only a levy on the banking sector but also confirmed that the future size of banking institutions will be limited and some trading practices will be outlawed.
While so far the UK government has remained fairly quiet on the subject, many people believe that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling will use the US blueprint as a means to increase the burden on the UK banking industry. As a consequence we have seen banking shares in the UK marked sharply lower this week although when you consider that UK taxpayers hold majority stakes in Lloyds bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, any increase in the taxation burden would be detrimental to the value of the share stakes.
The move by President Obama took many by surprise and indeed it looks as though the markets have been spooked by the move. How they react next week will be vital to the short-term direction of worldwide stock markets.
Share this..
Related stories
Tesco sets its sights on the financial sector
After reporting pre-tax profits of £1.42 billion for the six months to August 29, only fractionally up on last year's figure, Tesco has revealed plans to attack the UK financial sector and in particular the UK banking industry. Hot on the heels of a decision by the competition commission to block many new store applications and expansion plans, it would seem as though leading UK supermarkets are...
Read MoreAsda sold for £6.9 billion
While the headline may seem surprising there is more to this particular £6.9 billion deal than meets the eye. The deal is in fact part of a larger restructuring at US parent Wal-Mart which has in effect sold Asda to a company called Corinth Services Ltd for only £200 million more than its original purchase price back in 1999.
The new owner of Asda is actually part of the Wal-Mart...
Is Ferrero out of the Cadbury picture?
Italian confectionery giant Ferrero is said to have ruled out a potential offer for UK competitor Cadbury. There were hopes that the company would team up with US outfit Hershey and present a "white knight" offer to the Cadbury board to head off the onslaught from Kraft Foods. While the rumours regarding Ferrero dropping out of the bidding have yet to be officially confirmed, those close to the co...
Read MoreBankruptcies and company failures set to soar in the UK
It has been revealed that bankruptcy petitions in UK have increased by 7% in the third quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007. It was reported by the Ministry of Justice that 13,653 bankruptcy petitions were passed to courts in England in the third quarter of 2008 alone. Over the same period it has also been confirmed that 3,184 companies received winding-up petitions which went to...
Read MoreUK government's new homes target by 2020 is all spin
Over the next few days we will hear lots of back slapping at the Labour Party conference, memories of past successes and basically get the impression that they all live in a different world. Well this seems to be the situation in the housing market with the government sticking to its forecast of 3 million new homes in the UK between now and 2020. However, is this really possible? Or is it just f...
Read More