Landslide as Lloyds investors back HBOS merger

The deal received 96% backing at the company's General Meeting, with Lloyds group chief executive Eric Daniels saying the merger would likely go ahead in mid-January. Shareholders in HBOS will have to wait until December 12 to have their say. Additionally, shareholders also backed plans to raise a total of £5.5bn through the issue of new shares and special preference shares to strengthen Lloyds' balance sheet. HBOS stocks started to climb again on the back of the announcement after a sharp fall this afternoon. At 3.30pm shares topped 68p, a 9% gain on Tuesday's opening price. Shortly be...