Revenues fall at Citigroup as costs rise April 18, 2011 CITIGROUP yesterday revealed a slump in revenues and profits in its quarterly results compared to last year, emphasising the bank’s ongoing fight to rein in its backlog of struggling consumer business lines. Revenues dropped 22 per cent year-on-year to $19.7bn (£12.1bn), but the figure was a seven per cent improvement on the fourth-quarter of 2010. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 5, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PAULSON FUND FALLS 6PC IN MAY Paulson & Co, the world’s third- largest hedge fund, saw the value of its flagship fund drop close to 6 per cent in May, echoing losses across the industry. The loss tops negative returns in the first quarter at the $37bn (£22.5bn) New York-based money manager, famed [...]
Businesses pay back debt as lending falls again March 18, 2011 Lending to businesses fell again in January, new data from the Bank of England have shown. Net monthly lending fell by £1.2bn as businesses paid back more debt and boosted bank balances rather than take on loans. On a three-month basis lending fell 1.1 per cent in January, while on a 12-month basis it fell [...]
Inflating away the UK’s national debt June 9, 2011 ONCE again, the Bank of England chose to keep interest rates on hold yesterday. It is now looking like it won’t be raising rates until next year at the earliest. Forget about strict inflation targeting; its new policy appears to be to keep monetary policy as loose as possible for the foreseeable future, as long [...]
Inflating away the UK’s national debt June 9, 2011 ONCE again, the Bank of England chose to keep interest rates on hold yesterday. It is now looking like it won’t be raising rates until next year at the earliest. Forget about strict inflation targeting; its new policy appears to be to keep monetary policy as loose as possible for the foreseeable future, as long [...]
Property asking prices up March 21, 2011 Asking prices for houses in England and Wales are 0.9 percent higher than a year earlier, a monthly survey by property website Rightmove showed on Monday. March’s annual rate of growth in asking prices picked up from a reading of 0.3 per cent in February. The month-on-month rate of growth, which is subject to seasonal [...]
Retirees face decades of debt as living costs soar March 8, 2011 A FIFTH of UK retirees still have thousands of pounds of mortgage debt while a third owe money on credit cards, a report showed yesterday. Outstanding mortgage debt among over-55s has also risen by a fifth to more than £65,000 from £54,500 in February 2010, according to Aviva’s latest Real Retirement Report. The survey painted [...]
Cost of renting exceeds buying March 2, 2011 The cost of renting is 10.5 per cent more on average than buying a house with a mortgage at five per cent per annum, according to property website Zoopla.co.uk. Renting is now a more expensive option than owning in 80 per cent of Britain’s cities, while the cost difference is currently on the rise, it [...]
Cost of renting exceeds buying March 2, 2011 The cost of renting is 10.5 per cent more on average than buying a house with a mortgage at five per cent per annum, according to property website Zoopla.co.uk. Renting is now a more expensive option than owning in 80 per cent of Britain’s cities, while the cost difference is currently on the rise, it [...]
Time to celebrate Tax Freedom Day May 31, 2011 WELCOME back to the office: today is the first working day you actually get to keep the money you earn, rather than hand it all over to the state to pay for public spending. It’s Tax Freedom Day – a date which keeps moving later into the year as taxes keep going up. You may [...]