28 April 2021 | 11:57am
StockMarketWire.com - The FTSE 100 was higher by midday, up 0.4% to 6,972.72, as positive corporate news on both sides of the Atlantic helped lift investor sentiment.
Overnight both Google-owner Alphabet and Microsoft reported quarterly earnings ahead of expectations.
In the UK high Street lender Lloyds rallied 3.3% to 45p, having reported a jump in first-quarter profit as bad debt provisions fell amid an ongoing economic recovery, offsetting lower income.
Lloyds also upgraded its guidance, forecasting its annual net interest margin to be in excess of 2.45% and its operating costs to fall to about £7.5 billion.
The bank said it was accruing dividends and intended to resume a progressive and sustainable ordinary dividend policy .
12 March 2021 | 09:20am
StockMarketWire.com - Supermarket J Sainsbury has appointed former Reckitt Benckiser CFO Adrian Hennah as non-executive director. Adrian will join both the audit and nomination committees on 1 April 2021 and will take over as chair of the audit committee following the AGM.
Hennah said: I am very pleased to be joining Sainsbury s and look forward to bringing my experience to the board. I am familiar with the business through previous roles and have always been impressed by the company s values and commitment to do the right thing for its customers. It is an exciting time to be involved in food retail and I am looking forward to getting started.