RBS Posts A Winning Loss

LONDON - Royal Bank of Scotland posted a $1.5 billion loss for the first six months of the year on Friday, but it clearly had a galvanizing effect on investors Friday--with the market having expected a worse figure, the result looked like a turning point for the bank. Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (nyse: ) gained 3.2%, to 240.50 pence ($4.62), in London on Friday. The bank's six-month loss of 802.0 million pounds ($1.5 billion)--down from a gain of 3.6 billion pounds ($6.9 billion), last year--was the first in its history, but TradeTheNews.com put consensus estimates at a much heftier loss of 967.5 million pounds ($1.9 billion). "We expect potential losses to remain manageable," said Citigroup analyst Tom Rayner, who recommended buying RBS shares on Friday. Much of RBS' loss was made up of 5.9 billion pounds' ($8.9... [read full story]