Rational self-interest: Why helping yourself is key to helping others October 28, 2013 IT USUALLY begins with Ayn Rand,” author Jerome Tuccille once wrote. He’s not wrong. An amazing number of people come to support a free society and a free market economy after reading Rand’s novels – especially The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged – in their student years. But then her novels have what young people want. [...]
US existing home sales increase at fastest rate in three years August 21, 2013 More homes than expected were sold in the US in July, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) (release). Existing home sales – which are completed transactions including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39m in July – up from a downwardly revised [...]
British insurer Abbey Protection sold to US company for £116m October 9, 2013 BRITISH insurance company Abbey Protection was yesterday sold to US firm Markel for £116.5m, ending its 21 year stint as an independent company. Aim-listed Abbey specialises in providing insurance products for legal expenses. The deal will result in a bumper £65m payday for the company’s management team, who collectively own around more than half of the company’s [...]
Live with your head in the clouds September 26, 2013 Booming demand for residential property causes developers to reach for the sky LONDON has lifted its head firmly into the clouds in recent years as more gargantuan skyscrapers have sprouted up around the city. The Shard, the Heron Tower, the Walkie Talkie and their contemporaries have pierced the skyline and made a similar hole in [...]
British extended warranty firm sold to CVC Partners for £750m August 13, 2013 PRIVATE equity firm CVC Capital Partners yesterday bought Domestic & General (D&G), a provider of extended warranties, from rival Advent International in a deal thought to be worth around £750m. D&G offers breakdown cover on household appliances such as television and white goods and claims to have 15m customers producing sales of over £600m a year. Rather than [...]
UBS $885m settlement with US regulators strikes fear into European banks July 26, 2013 Swiss bank UBS will pay $885m (£575m) in a settlement with US regulators over allegations it misrepresented mortage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, it was announced today. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees state-sponsored housing enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said that UBS would pay $415m to Fannie May and $470m to [...]
New London homes sales hit record high as UK buyers return August 5, 2013 RETURNING confidence in the UK housing market has led to a jump in the number of Britons buying new homes off-plan, figures out today show. Domestic buyers accounted for 57 per cent of purchasers in the first half of 2013 compared with 47 per cent in the first half of 2012, according to research by [...]
Taylor Wimpey works on capital structure with £550m debt facility August 12, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey yesterday announced it has refinanced its revolving credit facility due next year with a new £550m debt package. Group finance director Ryan Mangold said the debt facility, which matures in August 2018, will provide “ample headroom to deliver strategic objectives while reducing our finance costs.” He added: “This provides us with a [...]
US sues Bank of America for alleged fraud August 6, 2013 THE US government yesterday filed two civil suits against the Bank of America for an alleged fraud against investors, involving $850m (£553.5m) of mortgage-backed securities. The Justice Department and the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed the parallel suits in US district court in Charlotte, according to the court filings. The securities date to about [...]
London Report: Housing pickup sparks rise in blue chip stocks August 13, 2013 F RESH signs of a recovery in the UK housing sector helped nudge Britain’s benchmark share index higher yesterday, with several traders expecting more minor gains over the coming month. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 per cent, or 37.60 points, at 6,611.94 points. A survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors [...]