LONDON (ShareCast) - 1401: In anticipation of the upcoming Basel 4 requirements - to improve ho wbanks measure balance sheet risk and "advertis" their [capital] ratios - Deutsche bank has analysed which lenders look best as banks are rehabilitated as dividend paying equities. The stocks it "likes" are: Lloyds, Danske, Unicredit, Banco Popolare, Commerzbank and Bankinter.


1248: While the Stoxx 600 Utilities sector tends to outperform its benchmark by about 0.4% during market corrections, the performance of the sector at the national level is quite a different matter altogether. French, German and Austrian utilities for the most part tend to underperform. Souther European utilities have a more 'mixed' track record, analysts at Citi write. However, UK utilities almost always outperform and significantly so, with gains of approximately 6%. Centrica and Severn are the ones who most frequently outperform, whilst Severn Trent and National Grid are the ones who outperform the most (in the UK and the sector).

1143: UK stocks have dipped further into the red amid concerns about Greece, after the Bank of Greece warned that if the country does not reach a deal with lenders, it could face a "painful" default, a exit from the Eurozone, an exit of the EU and surging inflation. "Failure to reach an agreement would, on the contrary, mark the beginning of a painful course," the BoG said, adding that things could "snowball into an uncontrollable crisis". The FTSE 100 is down 33 points at 6,778.

0941: UK unemployment fell 43,000 in the three months to April to 1.81m, official figures have shown. The FTSE 100 is down four points at 6,706.

0855: Stocks started the day flat as investors await a Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the afternoon. Meanwhile, markets remain cautious regarding ongoing tensions coming from Greece. Concerns about a potential "Grexit" have been escalating, with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras launching an attack on the IMF in particular, saying the Fund bears "criminal responsibility" for his country's financial problems."Unless the EU backs down we could see Greece fail to make its payments to the IMF at the end of this month," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. In other news, Berkley Group posted a 42% rise in full-year pre-tax profits driven by a stable housing market. However, it sounded a note of caution over the EU referendum.

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