Submissions to Vickers January 26, 2011 BARCLAYS Said a forced split would harm the stability of the system. “There is little empirical evidence to suggest that material structural change would enhance financial stability,” it said, warning that the UK economy would also suffer if the financial sector is curtailed. RBS RBS sought to quantify the benefits of the universal model, estimating [...]
RONSON BLAMES TOXIC IRISH BANKING ASSETS March 29, 2011 TO the Dorchester for the annual get-together of the great and the good in the property world, hosted by Gerald Ronson, Heron International’s remarkable boss. The 71-year old property sage and philanthropist, who briefly spent time in jail in the 1990s as a result of the Guinness share scandal, before staging a spectacular personal recovery, [...]
London house prices avoid national drop January 18, 2011 HOUSE prices fell for the third consecutive month in November, official data showed yesterday. However, in London prices actually rose by 0.9 per cent compared to October with the average house price standing at £340,013, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) reported. Across the UK as a whole, prices dropped by 0.1 per [...]
Businesses can’t blame it all on weatherman January 30, 2011 WON’T blame it on myself, I’ll blame it on the weatherman”. So sang rubbish Irish girl group B*Witched in their 1999 number one hit. Over a decade later business leaders are following their lead. In December it snowed in the UK. In January we heard that people bought fewer Airfix models and drank less beer. [...]
Nationwide profit plunges by 46pc May 26, 2010 NATIONWIDE Building Society has reported a 46 per cent drop in annual profits as low interest rates continue to take their toll. Underlying pre-tax profits dropped to £212m for the year to 4 April compared with £393m a year earlier. The group said it expected the difficult conditions to continue throughout the year. Meanwhile it [...]
Nationwide profit plunges by 46pc May 26, 2010 NATIONWIDE Building Society has reported a 46 per cent drop in annual profits as low interest rates continue to take their toll. Underlying pre-tax profits dropped to £212m for the year to 4 April compared with £393m a year earlier. The group said it expected the difficult conditions to continue throughout the year. Meanwhile it [...]
Consumer confidence falls again as fears over the recovery grow November 11, 2010 CONSUMER confidence fell for the fifth month in a row in October, according to the closely-followed Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index published today. The index dropped by one point over the month, meaning it now stands 32 points below its interim peak of 84 seen in February of this year. Nationwide attributed the drop in sentiment [...]
Irish Nationwide stays in red May 12, 2010 STATE-run Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) may need further capital from the government if “almost inevitable” losses this year come in ahead of expectations, its chairman said yesterday. INBS, which reported a tenfold widening of its losses in 2009 due to a jump in bad loan provisions, is being propped up by a €2.7bn (£2.3bn) [...]
House prices down 3.9 per cent on June December 1, 2010 HOUSE prices fell by another 0.3 per cent in November, mortgage-lender Nationwide announced yesterday. The news follows an even sharper drop in the previous month, as prices fell 0.7 per cent on September. Prices have either fallen or stagnated since June, according to Nationwide’s statistics. The average house price in the UK is now £163,398, [...]
Property’s mixed prospects in 2011 January 26, 2011 PROPERTY price indices suggest house prices are falling again, but what are the prospects for home owners and property investors? UK house prices fell 0.9 per cent in the final three months of 2010 and were down 1.3 per cent between November and December, the Halifax index shows. Some analysts expect them to fall further, [...]