Reuters alone with market moving Qatar interest in UK banks

Reuters beat rivals with news on Feb 23 that Qatar was open to investing in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. Shares in Lloyds immediately jumped as headlines hit clients’ screens, rising 1.4 percent on the London Stock Exchange while RBS rose 1 percent. The remarks by Qatar’s prime minister, who is also head of its sovereign wealth fund, came the day before RBS’ 2010 results and fuelled talk about SWF interest in bailed-out UK banks. Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani also said he had discussed UK investments with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron. The news was unmatched by Bloomberg, which focused on the political aspect of Cameron’s Mideast visit, and the Reuters story was carried by the Wall Street Journal.