Listen to our latest Investing Matters Podcast episode 'Uncovering opportunities with investment trusts' with The AIC's Richard Stone here.
from sources across the web
image of blue-footed booby
en.wikipedia.org
blue-footed booby
image of horned screamer
ebird.org
horned screamer
image of new zealand king shag
nzbirdsonline.org.nz
new zealand king shag
image of dickcissel
www.allaboutbirds.org
dickcissel
image of hoary puffleg
ebird.org
hoary puffleg
image of dunnock
ebird.org
dunnock
image of andean ****-of-the-rock
ebird.org
andean ****-of-the-rock
image of bananaquit
en.wikipedia.org
bananaquit
image of splendid fairywren
ebird.org
splendid fairywren
image of little bustard
t2.gstatic.com
little bustard
image of smew
ebird.org
smew
image of long-tailed paradise whydah
ebird.org
long-tailed paradise whydah
image of kori bustard
ebird.org
kori bustard
image of kākā
ebird.org
kākā
image of potoo
en.wikipedia.org
potoo
image of european shag
ebird.org
european shag
any of these bird types have to be renamed too lol
Metro Bank plots capital-raise in bid to allay City concerns
Metro Bank, the high street lender, is drawing up plans to raise hundreds of millions of pounds of new capital in weeks in a bid to strengthen its troubled balance sheet.
Sky News has learnt that Metro Bank - the first new lender to open on Britain's high streets in over 100 years when it launched in 2010 - is working with advisers to secure several hundred million pounds in new debt and equity.
City sources said on Wednesday evening that the company had hired bankers at Morgan Stanley to work on the capital-raising plans, while Moelis, another investment bank, is also thought to be involved.
Royal Bank of Canada, Metro Bank's corporate broker, is also involved in the equity-raise.
Metro Bank's board, which is chaired by Robert Sharpe, a veteran banker, is exploring a range of options to shore up its troubled balance sheet.
WASHINGTON—The House passed a measure to extend government funding through mid-November after a coalition of Republicans and Democrats joined ranks to stave off a government shutdown, putting the matter squarely in the hands of the U.S. Senate.
The House voted 335-91 for the measure, which includes $16 billion in disaster relief but omits aid for Ukraine. That exceeded the two-thirds majority needed to clear the bill through the House, which considered the legislation under special procedures requiring a supermajority of votes.
Before the vote, House Republicans argued that the party had exhausted its options after dissident conservatives derailed an earlier plan, and said that the only choice now was to pass a bill extending funding at 2023’s $1.6 trillion annual rate through Nov. 17. That squares with major components of the approach being taken in the Senate, except that the Senate version includes an emergency $6 billion for Ukraine.
“I want to keep government open,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said after a closed-door conference meeting earlier Saturday, noting that the House still needs to pass eight of 12 spending bills. “I am asking Republicans and Democrats alike. Put your partisanship away. Focus on the American public.”
Some Democrats had worked to rally their members against the legislation, arguing against omitting aid for Ukraine and saying that Republicans had pulled a fast one by advancing a bill that they said would enable a pay raise for members of Congress. But Republicans moved to fix the cost-of-living increase matter, and also questioned why Democrats would be willing to shut down their own government in the name of supporting Ukraine.
Lloyds Bank has slower Q2 but dividend receives boost
26th July 2023 08:34
Richard Hunter from interactive investor
Share
Related Investments
LLOY
1.66%
The high street bank has upgraded financial guidance for the full-year to reflect higher-than-expected interest rates, but the shares suffered an early dip. Our head of markets talks us through latest results.
Despite something of a slowdown in the second quarter as was largely expected, for the half-year as a whole Lloyds Banking Group
LLOY
1.66%
has again shown its financial mettle.
Net Interest Margin (NIM) came under some pressure, particularly from margin compression in the mortgage book where renegotiated loans are at slightly less profitable levels. This came at a time when banks are under pressure to increase savings rates given further interest rate hikes, which are clearly beneficial to NIM.
Learn more: SIPP Portfolio Ideas | How SIPPs Work | Transfer a SIPP
Lloyds made some adjustments which resulted in an increase of £3.5 billion of retail savings accounts, which helped to offset a drop of £6.2 billion in retail current accounts. Even so, NIM for the half-year of 3.18% compares with 2.77% from the year previous and, equally importantly, guidance for the full year was increased to 3.1% from a previous forecast of 3.05%.
Indeed, Lloyds upped a number of guidance measures in its outlook, such as the Return on Tangible Equity number to over 14% from a previous 13%. This was made possible by a strong return of 19.1% in the first quarter which in turn was driven by a hike in underlying income. Indeed, Net Interest Income for the six-month period was ahead by 14%, with a number of other key metrics also underlining the strength of the business.
The capital cushion, or CET1 ratio, remained stable at a healthy 14.2%, still comfortably ahead of the group’s 12.5% target. Elsewhere, the cost/income ratio of 48.8% compared with 51.3% the year previous and remains sector-beating as has long been the case. The bank’s ability to maintain investment alongside keeping a sharp focus on operational costs has been one to which investors have warmed over a significant period.
UK bank sector results preview Q2 2023
The UK's coming mortgage crunch
Why some fund managers love bank shares, but Terry Smith steers clear
Lloyds has also made further provision for impairments, although for the time being there has been no impactful increase in bad debts generally. Indeed, the group has been proactively contacting both individual and business customers offering some financial assistance in an effort to head off problems further down the road. The provision for the half-year of £662 million compares with £377 million the year previous, and is a prudent yet necessary move given a potentially deteriorating economic backdrop.
Overall, an increase of 10% to underlying profit and of 23% to pre-tax profit of £3.87 billion are proof positive that Lloyds remains a tightly-run