Pickles backs giving tenants the right to ask for long-term leases October 1, 2013 ERIC Pickles yesterday said he would give tenants the right to request longer rental agreements lasting two to five years – despite concerns that mortgage restrictions will rule out many landlords. The government will now launch a standardised contract for longer rental agreements, even though only Nationwide and Paragon currently allow landlords with buy-to-let mortgages [...]
Don’t underestimate Turkey’s turmoil: Not all emerging markets will succeed January 8, 2014 TURKEY’S often-fickle political system may not make its current domestic turmoil seem particularly important. But the country’s troubles hold lessons for the likely success – or failure – of other emerging markets in 2014 and beyond. More and more, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks like a man who has outlasted his usefulness. If [...]
What you need to know before the open – 31/10 October 31, 2013 The Fed's decision last night to stick with its current stimulus level wasn't a big surprise, given the probable damage caused by shutdown. US markets were dragged down, however, on the absence of discussion on shutdown, tight credit conditions and high interest rates. Asian markets were cooled by the news, too, with Seoul shares edging [...]
Tennis chief rejects useless tag and vows to mine Murray factor September 24, 2013 INCOMING Lawn Tennis Association chief executive Michael Downey has hit back at claims the organisation is “useless” and outlined his plan to capitalise on Andy Murray’s Wimbledon success. Last year All-Party Tennis Group chair Baroness Billingham said the £640,000 salary earned by Downey’s predecessor Roger Draper was unjustified. But Canadian Downey, who will earn £300,000 [...]
Best of the Brokers for 26 September 2013 September 25, 2013 GREENCORE Numis has given food company Greencore an “add” recommendation and lifted its target price to 153p ahead of its 26 November full year report. The analyst said plus points include “the absence of the horse meat issue and possible improvement from UK cakes & desserts.” TESCO Shares in Tesco fell 3.5 per cent yesterday, [...]
Why capital rules could limit the impact of new competition in banking September 9, 2013 THE NEW TSB bank was finally launched yesterday. The spin-off of 631 branches and 4.6m customers from Lloyds means that the UK now has the first new major competitor to the existing banks since the start of the financial crisis. And when RBS spins off 315 of its branches, Britain will have a further mid-size [...]
London Report: RBS and Lloyds news leads raft of bank updates October 27, 2013 BANKING and financial results will be in the spotlight this week as the Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, Lloyds, Standard Life and Barclays all publish figures. RBS third quarter numbers, to be published on Friday, are the first since Ross McEwan took over from Stephen Hester as chief executive. They are expected to show [...]
SSE to raise energy prices by 8.2 per cent October 10, 2013 Energy company SSE has announced an 8.2 per cent increase in electricity and gas prices from 15 November. (Release) It's the first provider to up its tariff for winter. Will Morris, managing director for retail said, "we don't take these decisions lightly", adding that the company has done what it can to keep prices down. [...]
Class action vs BoA rejected in US September 5, 2013 A lawsuit accusing Bank of America of reneging on promises to help distressed homeowners modify their mortgage loans, and instead driving them into foreclosure, cannot proceed as a class action, a federal judge ruled yesterday. While saying borrowers’ claims “may well be meritorious,” US district judge Rya Zobel said they were too different to justify [...]
Activist investor duo return with turnaround fund October 20, 2013 FAILING companies beware – two of the UK’s most prominent activist investors have joined forces to launch a new vehicle aimed at turning around small companies listed on the stock market. Former Guinness Peat Group (GPG) executives Blake Nixon and Max Lesser, who have spearheaded a host of activist campaigns against failing boards over the [...]