Market Pulse
Bonds: Lloyds moves to redeem some of its outstanding enhanced capital notes
These were the movements in some of the most widely-followed 10-year sovereign bonds yields:.
LLoyds to push ahead with repurchase of some ECNs
Lloyds announced on Friday it would move ahead with the redemption of 3. 3bn pounds of its controversial 'high-yield' enhanced-capital notes.
Fed´s Kaplan says Fed will take the time that is necessary to evaluate situation
The US central bank needs more time to assess the implications of recent volatility in global financial markets on the US economy, a high-ranking official said.
Sector movers: Resource stocks fall, financials tick higher
Resource blue chips headed lower on Friday, while financial stocks ensured headline London indices ended the week on positive turf.
S&P downgrades Azerbaijan´s sovereign debt to 'junk'
Ratings agency Standard&Poor´s on Friday downgraded its rating on oil-producing Azerbaijan´s long-term sovereign debt to 'junk'.
Commodities: Oil futures head sideways, gold recovers
Oil futures stayed within the $32-34 per barrel range on Friday, as conflicting market chatter about possible production cuts loomed large over proceedings for a second successive session, while precious metal futures gained some ground following tepid US economic data.
London close: Equities close higher as oil prices rise, BoJ loosens policy
The UK equity market closed higher on Friday as oil prices rose and the Bank of Japan’s latest policy decision was well received.
FX Roundup: Yen slips lower on shock BoJ move
The dollar extended gains against the yen and major currency crosses on Friday, despite less than convincing economic data after a surprise move by the Bank of Japan to introduce negative interest rates for holdings.
Market overview: Stocks boosted by BoJ rate cut
1630:Close Stocks ended the week in a chipper mood after the BoJ surprised some in the markets with the timing of its latest move to thwart deflationary risks. That came amid mixed data over on the Continent but a relatively positive figures out Stateside. Nevertheless, at least two well-known market strategists (from BofA Merrill and Trim Tabs) sounded a cautious tactical on share prices. Citi was a bit more ambivalent in a note to clients, although it admitted its view of the world might be too US-centric.
Europe close: Stocks higher after Japanese rate-setters make move
European stocks finished the session comfortably higher and at their best levels of the day after the Bank of Japan's surprise decision to adopt negative interest rates, as it looks to drive inflation to 2%, and amid 'mixed' data both in the Eurozone and the US.
Tory peer appeals to football bosses on EU in campaign
There was a stark warning from an unlikely source for Britons pondering Brexit on Friday, as a Tory peer and vice-chairman of a Premier League side warned in a letter the sport would suffer if the United Kingdom were to leave the European Union.
Stay long cash on a 'tactical' basis, BofA Merrill says
Don´t be fooled, the flow of money into and out of the different asset classes over the latest week continued to show a clear 'deflationary' mind-set, despite the better tone to markets seen at the end of January, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch´s Michael Hartnett said in a research note sent to clients.
Friday broker round-up
Experian: Exane BNP Paribas upgrades to outperform with a 1350p target.
Spectra acquires new phosphour assets
Spectra Systems was talking up its new revenue opportunities on Friday, having acquired a sizeable new set of phosphour assets.
Exane upgrades DCC and Experian, downgrades Bunzl
Exane BNP Paribas has upgraded DCC and Experian Group from ‘neutral’ to ‘outperform’, while downgrading Bunzl from ‘outperform’ to ‘neutral’.
Are analysts being too US-centric? Citi asks
It´s too soon to call time on the global bull market, strategists at Citi said on Friday; nevertheless, they put forward an interesting observation regarding the possible risks to their call.
Microsoft rides high on cloud services
Microsoft revealed a 5% rise in annual revenue from cloud services as the software giant continues to mitigate its reliance on earnings from personal computing software.
Redcentric agrees to buy City Lifeline
UK IT services provider Redcentric has agreed to buy City Lifeline for £4. 8m, the company announced on Friday.
Santander chairman banks on future success
Santander’s executive chairman Ana Botin has been snapping up shares in a bid to show confidence in the bank.