FTSE drops, pressured by Syrian risks

1 of 3. A trader monitors the screen on a trading floor in London January 22, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Stefan Wermuth

By Alistair Smout

LONDON | Wed Aug 28, 2013 4:25pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 fell on Wednesday, pressured by the risks of possible Western military action against Syria, but with energy stocks supporting the market after an oil price spike.

The FTSE 100 was down 12.40 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6,428.57 points by 1440 GMT, as the United States and its allies appeared to be gearing up for a strike against Syria, pushing oil prices to multi-month highs on concerns about Middle Eastern crude supply.

Falls were seen across the board, with the rising oil price increasing costs for companies in a still-fragile economy. Airline IAG was the biggest FTSE faller, down 4.4 percent, while easyJet dropped 1.7 percent.

However, the index pared losses towards the close after U.S. markets opened higher. Thierry Laduguie, stock market analyst at e-Yield, said the market was now factoring in that intervention would take place.

"A U.S. strike on Syria would push oil higher but I am not sure it would have a big impact on stocks," he said.

"Investors anticipate a strike, this is already priced in"

Heavyweight energy stocks BP and Royal Dutch Shell were among the top FTSE 100 risers, with respective gains of 1.2 percent and 2 percent.

The FTSE 100 has fallen some 3 percent since mid-August on concerns over a reduction in U.S. monetary stimulus and over Syria, and is just 0.2 percent off setting a two-month low.

"There's not just Syria ... with possible tapering at the next Fed meeting and the German election in September, people are stepping aside or buying protection," Ioan Smith, managing director at KCG, said.

Stock market reaction was mixed after new Bank of England governor Mark Carney recommitted to an extended period of lower rates and said he could pump more money into the British economy. Stocks initially pared losses then fell to an intraday low, before rallying in tandem with U.S. stocks.

NEXT WAVE DOWN

The FTSE 100 remained trapped in a recent range, and charts indicated there could be future falls even if worries over Syria subside.

"On the daily chart the index is below the 50-day moving average and above the 200-day moving average, the directional movement index has given a sell signal. Any rally should lead to the next wave down," e-Yield's Laduguie said.

Stocks trading without the attraction of their latest dividend, including CRH, Glencore Xstrata and Legal & General, took 2.3 points off the FTSE 100 on Wednesday.

(Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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Spanish Banks In Profit As Jobless Rate Drops

A trio of Spanish banks, including bailed out lender Bankia, have posted big jumps in first-half profits - as the latest statistics show the first drop in the jobless for two years.

The banks have shown trading gains and lower writedowns on property assets helped a partial recovery from their annus horribilis last year.

Spanish bank profits were gutted in 2012 by massive losses on the ruptured property bubble and a deep recession is still hurting firms as more borrowers struggle to keep up with loan payments.

Bankia posted a 19.2bn-euro (£16.5bn) loss last year, the biggest of any bank globally.

It has now bounced back with a 200m-euro (£171m) profit for the first half of this year.

Spain has been hit with numerous protests over its economic woes

The lender said net interest income, or the difference between income from loans and interest paid on deposits, was 1.1bn euros (£945m), down 36% on the first half of 2012.

Mid-sized rivals Sabadell and Bankinter also reported rises in profit from a year ago.

Sabadell set aside an extra 321m euros (£275m) towards provisions related to refinanced loans, some of which it will have to reclassify as non-performing ones, as instructed by the central bank.

The bank posted a 123m-euro (£105m) net profit for the first half of the 2013, beating analyst expectations after big gains from financial transactions, such as trading operations.

The Bank of Spain recently asked lenders to reclassify more of their refinanced loans as non-performing ones.

Bankinter's net profit in the first half was 102m euros (£87.6m), sharply up from the same period a year ago when it was hurt by writedowns on bad property assets.

Spain has been in or close to recession for five years, largely due to a bursting of a decade-long property bubble.

Spanish unemployment for under 25s is still very high

It needed a 42bn-euro (£36bn) bailout of its banks last year, with most of the problems among its raft of smaller lenders.

Meanwhile, Spanish unemployment fell for the first time in two years to reach 26.26% in the second quarter, according to official data.

It showed that the tourist season has created a renewed demand for workers.

The number of jobless people fell by 225,200 over the quarter to a total of 5,977,500 jobseekers registered in the country.

During the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate stood at a record 27.2%.

Youth unemployment, however, still hovers around the 50% mark.

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This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Spanish Banks In Profit As Jobless Rate Drops

A trio of Spanish banks, including bailed out lender Bankia, have posted big jumps in first-half profits - as the latest statistics show the first drop in the jobless for two years.

The banks have shown trading gains and lower writedowns on property assets helped a partial recovery from their annus horribilis last year.

Spanish bank profits were gutted in 2012 by massive losses on the ruptured property bubble and a deep recession is still hurting firms as more borrowers struggle to keep up with loan payments.

Bankia posted a 19.2bn-euro (£16.5bn) loss last year, the biggest of any bank globally.

It has now bounced back with a 200m-euro (£171m) profit for the first half of this year.

Spain has been hit with numerous protests over its economic woes

The lender said net interest income, or the difference between income from loans and interest paid on deposits, was 1.1bn euros (£945m), down 36% on the first half of 2012.

Mid-sized rivals Sabadell and Bankinter also reported rises in profit from a year ago.

Sabadell set aside an extra 321m euros (£275m) towards provisions related to refinanced loans, some of which it will have to reclassify as non-performing ones, as instructed by the central bank.

The bank posted a 123m-euro (£105m) net profit for the first half of the 2013, beating analyst expectations after big gains from financial transactions, such as trading operations.

The Bank of Spain recently asked lenders to reclassify more of their refinanced loans as non-performing ones.

Bankinter's net profit in the first half was 102m euros (£87.6m), sharply up from the same period a year ago when it was hurt by writedowns on bad property assets.

Spain has been in or close to recession for five years, largely due to a bursting of a decade-long property bubble.

Spanish unemployment for under 25s is still very high

It needed a 42bn-euro (£36bn) bailout of its banks last year, with most of the problems among its raft of smaller lenders.

Meanwhile, Spanish unemployment fell for the first time in two years to reach 26.26% in the second quarter, according to official data.

It showed that the tourist season has created a renewed demand for workers.

The number of jobless people fell by 225,200 over the quarter to a total of 5,977,500 jobseekers registered in the country.

During the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate stood at a record 27.2%.

Youth unemployment, however, still hovers around the 50% mark.

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View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Spanish Banks In Profit As Jobless Rate Drops

A trio of Spanish banks, including bailed out lender Bankia, have posted big jumps in first-half profits - as the latest statistics show the first drop in the jobless for two years.

The banks have shown trading gains and lower writedowns on property assets helped a partial recovery from their annus horribilis last year.

Spanish bank profits were gutted in 2012 by massive losses on the ruptured property bubble and a deep recession is still hurting firms as more borrowers struggle to keep up with loan payments.

Bankia posted a 19.2bn-euro (£16.5bn) loss last year, the biggest of any bank globally.

It has now bounced back with a 200m-euro (£171m) profit for the first half of this year.

Spain has been hit with numerous protests over its economic woes

The lender said net interest income, or the difference between income from loans and interest paid on deposits, was 1.1bn euros (£945m), down 36% on the first half of 2012.

Mid-sized rivals Sabadell and Bankinter also reported rises in profit from a year ago.

Sabadell set aside an extra 321m euros (£275m) towards provisions related to refinanced loans, some of which it will have to reclassify as non-performing ones, as instructed by the central bank.

The bank posted a 123m-euro (£105m) net profit for the first half of the 2013, beating analyst expectations after big gains from financial transactions, such as trading operations.

The Bank of Spain recently asked lenders to reclassify more of their refinanced loans as non-performing ones.

Bankinter's net profit in the first half was 102m euros (£87.6m), sharply up from the same period a year ago when it was hurt by writedowns on bad property assets.

Spain has been in or close to recession for five years, largely due to a bursting of a decade-long property bubble.

Spanish unemployment for under 25s is still very high

It needed a 42bn-euro (£36bn) bailout of its banks last year, with most of the problems among its raft of smaller lenders.

Meanwhile, Spanish unemployment fell for the first time in two years to reach 26.26% in the second quarter, according to official data.

It showed that the tourist season has created a renewed demand for workers.

The number of jobless people fell by 225,200 over the quarter to a total of 5,977,500 jobseekers registered in the country.

During the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate stood at a record 27.2%.

Youth unemployment, however, still hovers around the 50% mark.

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View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Spanish Banks In Profit As Jobless Rate Drops

A trio of Spanish banks, including bailed out lender Bankia, have posted big jumps in first-half profits - as the latest statistics show the first drop in the jobless for two years.

The banks have shown trading gains and lower writedowns on property assets helped a partial recovery from their annus horribilis last year.

Spanish bank profits were gutted in 2012 by massive losses on the ruptured property bubble and a deep recession is still hurting firms as more borrowers struggle to keep up with loan payments.

Bankia posted a 19.2bn-euro (£16.5bn) loss last year, the biggest of any bank globally.

It has now bounced back with a 200m-euro (£171m) profit for the first half of this year.

Spain has been hit with numerous protests over its economic woes

The lender said net interest income, or the difference between income from loans and interest paid on deposits, was 1.1bn euros (£945m), down 36% on the first half of 2012.

Mid-sized rivals Sabadell and Bankinter also reported rises in profit from a year ago.

Sabadell set aside an extra 321m euros (£275m) towards provisions related to refinanced loans, some of which it will have to reclassify as non-performing ones, as instructed by the central bank.

The bank posted a 123m-euro (£105m) net profit for the first half of the 2013, beating analyst expectations after big gains from financial transactions, such as trading operations.

The Bank of Spain recently asked lenders to reclassify more of their refinanced loans as non-performing ones.

Bankinter's net profit in the first half was 102m euros (£87.6m), sharply up from the same period a year ago when it was hurt by writedowns on bad property assets.

Spain has been in or close to recession for five years, largely due to a bursting of a decade-long property bubble.

Spanish unemployment for under 25s is still very high

It needed a 42bn-euro (£36bn) bailout of its banks last year, with most of the problems among its raft of smaller lenders.

Meanwhile, Spanish unemployment fell for the first time in two years to reach 26.26% in the second quarter, according to official data.

It showed that the tourist season has created a renewed demand for workers.

The number of jobless people fell by 225,200 over the quarter to a total of 5,977,500 jobseekers registered in the country.

During the first three months of the year, the unemployment rate stood at a record 27.2%.

Youth unemployment, however, still hovers around the 50% mark.

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