House prices fall more than expected in August September 7, 2011 UK house prices fell 1.2 per cent in August, mortgage lender Halifax has said, after an 0.5 per cent fall in the second quarter, reinforcing views that current prices cannot be sustained by cash-strapped UK buyers. The fall is about twice the 0.6 per cent fall posted in the rival Nationwide measure of house prices. [...]
How anti-capitalist rhetoric is affecting us all September 27, 2011 THREE party conferences, and three more rounds of anti-capitalist rhetoric – and bearing the brunt, of course, are the bankers. YouGov’s BrandIndex illustrates how consistent negative rhetoric and press coverage has impacted the overall perception of the banking industry. The banking industry index average (spanning 10 retail banks) has remained persistently negative, at its lowest [...]
How anti-capitalist rhetoric is affecting us all September 27, 2011 THREE party conferences, and three more rounds of anti-capitalist rhetoric – and bearing the brunt, of course, are the bankers. YouGov’s BrandIndex illustrates how consistent negative rhetoric and press coverage has impacted the overall perception of the banking industry. The banking industry index average (spanning 10 retail banks) has remained persistently negative, at its lowest [...]
Moody’s slashes ratings of UK banks October 6, 2011 THE FRAGILE UK banking sector was further knocked today by a downgrade by Moody’s, the credit rating agency. Moody’s has decided to reduce the ratings of 12 UK banks and building societies by up to three notches, to reflect the removal of implicit government support in the event of possible failure. The news sent bank [...]
MADE IN CHELSEA DIAMOND HEIR DIGS DEEP FOR HIS NEXT VENTURE November 15, 2011 HIS FAMILY made their fortune digging for diamonds in the Congo and Sierra Leone, but Made in Chelsea stalwart Francis Boulle is interested in mines of a different kind. Fundmine, to be precise, an online investment platform that allows entrepreneurs to sell their company visions to private investors that has to date attracted £8.7m of [...]
Albert ball for London 2012 July 25, 2011 OLYMPICS: The football used in the London 2012 Games will be called ‘The Albert’, the Cockney rhyming slang for ball, manufacturers Adidas said yesterday. The name – a shortened version of Albert Hall – was chosen following a nationwide competition.
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 29, 2011 BlackRock Simon Beresford and Neil Purvis have been appointed to help develop the investment fund’s UK defined contribution business. Beresford (pictured) joins as chief operating officer of the firm’s Peterborough DC administration centre, moving from the Nationwide Building Society, where he was head of mortgage administration. Purvis, previously head of HR at the firm, takes [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD September 18, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● Gulfsands Petroleum, Highland Gold Mining and Petra Diamonds all announce today. All are looking for strikingly good results. ● Tomorrow, the UK-listed holding company of the Carnival group – the world’s largest cruise ship operator is dual-listed in New York and London – announces. It will be hoping for smooth sailing. ● [...]
Consumer morale slides after early summer boom July 20, 2011 MORALE on the British high street has slumped back down again, following a brief spike caused by the royal wedding and early summer sun. In June the Nationwide consumer confidence index fell four points to 51 – a year on year drop of 11 points. Sentiment had soared from 44 to 55 in the previous [...]
Winter turnaround for consumer morale, reports Nationwide poll January 17, 2011 CONSUMER confidence picked up in December, Nationwide said today. Despite recent falls in Nationwide’s index, data for last month revealed an uptick, driven by more optimistic expectations for this year. “At 73 points, the expectations measure reached its highest level for three months, and perhaps provides some hope that the recovery will gain momentum in [...]