Shares News

By Tom Burroughes LONDON (Reuters) - FTSE 100 companies pumped record sums of cash into pension schemes in 2005 but deficits fell only slightly as a greying workforce and low bond returns piled on costs, according to a report on Wednesday. The combined deficit in final-salary pensions of blue-chip companies was 36 billion pounds at mid-July this year, down from 37 billion pounds a year before, a ...

By Steve Slater LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) narrowly beat expectations with an 8 percent rise in underlying half-year profits on Wednesday, as it increased revenue and cut costs in its core UK retail bank business. Lloyds, Britain's fifth biggest bank, said its profit before tax and volatility was 1.75 billion pounds, up from 1.63 billion last year and above an average forecast of 1.72 billion, based on 19 analysts polled by the company. But the bank said ...

Chief executive Andy Hornby said the results, along with the buying back of another £250m of shares, underscored the bank's prospects. He repeated there would be no change in strategy and that he had no plans to make acquisitions overseas."Today's results show with real clarity that organic growth is at the absolute core of what we do and I have no intention of changing that."I believe in the basi ...

HOW'S it going so far, Andy?"It's been a good day. I've enjoyed it."Hornby has sat alongside the previous chief executive Sir James Crosby some dozen times on results day.Yesterday was different. "It's always different when you're in charge of something... you're always aware the buck stops with you."You're also aware you've got 75,000 colleagues (HBOS staff) out there who want to know the b ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Stocks got off to a firm start on Wednesday, led higher by a 3 percent jump for Cadbury Schweppes (CBRY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) as the sweets and drinks maker reported rising profits and further buoyed by banking stocks. Building materials firm Hanson (HNS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was another gainer, up 1.4 percent after it unveiled a 16 percent rise in first-half operating profits The FTSE index of the 100 biggest shares was up 21.4 points at 5,902.2 by 8:21 a.m ...

"Crippled but free I was blind all the time I was learning to see" -- Grateful Dead NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- I started this column as I do every day, weaving my prose with rhythmic rhyme through the issues that surround the market. It's become a daily dance, of sorts, as I've settled into a familiar routine that's become second nature. As I punched through today's second paragraph, however, I s ...

Lucy Farndon, Daily Mail2 August 2006 THE only way is up, or so it seems, for interest rates. OTHER STORIES Market report: Wed preview Whittaker's top share tips Sunday newspaper share tips Drax poised for a surge in earnings Eco aims to clean up on carbon trading THE EDITOR'S PICKS TOP STORY: Is it worth switching? TOP TOOL: Fuel bill calculator TOP CHAT: Bank charge rip-of ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Socially responsible investing has been around for decades: you buy shares in a mutual fund (or ETF nowadays) and the fund manager picks stocks or bonds based on social or religious criteria such as a company's environmental record or its treatment of employees. As recently as the late 1990s, the choices for investors were still pretty limited to funds that tracked index ...

Shares in struggling US camera company Eastman Kodak have sunk 14% after it unveiled a large rise in losses. With the firm still finding it tough to cope with the move from traditional film to digital photography, its second quarter losses widened by 82%. For the three months to the end of June, its losses totalled $282m (£150m), up from $155m a year earlier. Kodak also said it was to contract out all of its digital camera manufacturing to Singapore-based Flextronics. Rochester-based Ko ...

Jenny Little, Mail on Sunday2 August 2006 SMALL firms are missing out on thousands of pounds of tax relief that could help towards the costs of starting up, developing products and running their businesses. DOING HER RESEARCH: Keronite finance director Amanda Thorneycroft can claim tax relief for her company OTHER STORIES The perfect business match Mr Waterer's bountiful reward The team help me go it alone Better workers switch off Beer boss calls for a freer spirit  ...