Anyone got any thoughts on the banks, think i will get into two of them late Friday afternoon, they all are down a lot and might be a few pounds to make. What do you think

Royal Bank OF Scotla BROKERWATCH Barclays, RBS unlikely to face major writedowns - Sanford Bernstein




LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland Group are
unlikely to announce major write-downs as a result of the collapse of the US
subprime mortgage market, analysts at Sanford Bernstein said in a note today.
In the note, Barclays and RBS may have to write down 1.6 bln stg and 500 mln
stg respectively, with reduced profits of 3 bln stg and 3.5 bln stg
respectively, resulting in potential value reduction of 4.6 bln and 4.0 bln
respectively.
However, the total combined value reduction of 8.6 bln stg "still trails" the
27.6 bln stg combined fall in both banks' market capitalisation over the year to
date, analyst Antony Broadbent wrote in a note to investors.
Broadbent maintained his 'Outperform' ratings on both stocks.
"We conclude it is unlikely that either Barclays or RBS is going to announce
a large write-down," he wrote, adding that it is likely that the banks will take
the opportunity to reassure investors with "more information disclosure than
usual" in their trading updates later this month and early next month.

A bit of good news with the banks, anythoughts how long it will go on

Sure there is plenty of bad news to come but with that uncertainty comes great trading opportunities if you can time your ins and outs well, whether long or short, long live volatility, definitely not buy and hold I believe

no i am looking to get out tom late afternoon, still a lot of badish news to come i think but like you say get your profit and run

thinking of getting into RBS and BARC, BARC first then RBS should it release early and have a nice stint up.

i hope you make a bit on them but they scare me at the moment, i'm out tom and will wait and see what the end of the week brings

Just seen this on the Moneyam Traders' Report:

"This week is all about news and I think the news releases this week will dictate which way the markets move next, in a way we haven't seen for quite some time. In the UK RBS are reporting their trading update on Thursday and it will be interesting to see how much they write-down and the rhetoric used for future guidance on the company. Given the current market jitters any surprise from RBS will resonate across the sector and can be expected to send all bank shares tumbling."

I've steered clear of the banks for now, but I suppose OK for those who like shorting!

Some analysts say "having a good economy is bad because the interest rate cannot be cut". This implies that having a bad economy is good.

It is funny isn't it!

It sure is a funny ol' world.

Latest I heard on the radio is that interest rates may not be cut this week.

There is a saying that talk is cheap you know -):

Well, let's hope it is only talk then!

Just had to share this with you all - from today's Times:

Big day for banks tomorrow with RBS trading update and BOE interest rate decision. If rate is held and RBS writes off more than 2.0B then be ready for fireworks.

Following news from RBS, BARC, AL. etc it appears UK banks are not so severely effected by the sub prime crisis created by US institutions. We should see a rally in UK bank shares as dividends appear safe and yields are very high as interest rates start to fall.
However there are calls in the US for a major " ENRON " style enquiry to find out if fraud was invoved in selling sub prime secuity packages. If this goes ahead it may well unsettle Wall Street further as more heads are likely to roll.

Halifax, re RBS: you might like to take a look at this, from today's Times:

RBS named as inquiry into sub-prime bonds gathers pace in America

Yes it will be interesting to see where this invesigation ends up. The inclusion of RBS as underrwriters is standard procedure in such a investigation at this stage.

Very interesting Toya,ive been looking at the 7% yeild on rbs recently and one of the "known unknowns" was the potential toxicity of the US wholly owned subsidiary mortgages. Still on the sidelines for this one, presumably there will be a proper mention of this in rbs full accounts about february time,thanks

Meanwhile RBS up almost 10% yield falling dont miss the boat!

BoE's auction of 10 bln stg receives bids totalling 62.2 bln stg

AFX - 12:57


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The Bank of England's auction of 10 bln stg, which can be borrowed for up to five weeks, received 62.2 bln stg in bids -- indicating the dire shortage of liquidity in the money markets.
The BoE's auction was intended to alleviate the strain in money markets, as banks rush to shore up their balance sheets in the run-up to the year-end period. However the auction meant only 16.1 pct of the 62.2 bln stg bid was successful.

The money was offered at the Bank rate, now 5.50 pct following today's rate cut, and was allowed to be held for five weeks. Usually, money auctioned in an open market operation can only be borrowed for a week.

The high total of bids means the BoE may have to repeat such an auction in the coming weeks. When it announced the operation last week, the BoE said it 'stands ready to take further measures to keep overnight rates in line with Bank Rate'.

Yesterday the overnight interbank borrowing rate stood at 5.84 pct compared to what was then the Bank rate of 5.75 pct.

[My italics - Toya]

I wonder if NRK bid for 26 billion!