House prices rise more than expected March 1, 2012 House prices rose more than expected in February, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed. Nationwide said that house prices ticked up by a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on the month – the biggest rise since April 2010 – and were 0.9 percent higher than a year earlier. That is follows a surprise monthly fall in [...]
House sales up 23% on last year February 21, 2012 There were 64,000 UK property sales in January, up 23 per cent compared the same month last year, according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Sales numbers endured the traditional post-Christmas dip, falling from 86,000 in December. But the January figures are the highest since 2008. Yesterday the Council of Mortgage lenders said [...]
House price slump not finished yet March 6, 2012 HOUSE prices fell again in February, reversing January’s rise and continuing the slow downward trend of the year. Prices dropped 0.5 per cent in the month, following January’s 0.6 per cent rise, taking the average price to £160,118. Over the last three months, prices are down 1.1 per cent, and 1.9 per cent on February [...]
JJB shares dive as it looks for a white knight August 30, 2012 SEVERAL bidders have expressed interest in taking control of crisis-hit retailer JJB Sports, which was forced to put itself up for sale yesterday after failing to secure fresh funding from investors. The company, which has 180 stores and employs 4,000 people, has been locked in discussions with suppliers and investors in recents months in a [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 10, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Goldman “muppet hunt” draws blank Goldman Sachs has told its board of directors that an internal investigation found little substance to allegations made by Greg Smith, the disaffected employee who claimed the bank has a “toxic environment” where bankers refer to clients as “muppets”. The review found that weeks before his public resignation [...]
Housebuilder Bovis hunts for growth in south as profits rise February 27, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes reported a 74 per cent jump in profit yesterday and predicted a strong 2012 from its focus on the relatively buoyant market for family homes in the affluent south of England. “It was a great year in terms of driving profitability back through the business … and we are expecting a stable [...]
Housebuilder Bovis hunts for growth in south as profits rise February 27, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes reported a 74 per cent jump in profit yesterday and predicted a strong 2012 from its focus on the relatively buoyant market for family homes in the affluent south of England. “It was a great year in terms of driving profitability back through the business … and we are expecting a stable [...]
A superlative-defying Range Rover October 30, 2012 I’ve only been driving Land Rover’s new Range Rover for five minutes and already I have had to swerve to avoid a man running down the motorway. Not across the motorway you understand but down it, as if he is pretending to be a car. Driving the new Range Rover in Morocco is challenging. Pedestrians [...]
House loans grow despite grim economy January 16, 2012 THE HOUSING market showed signs of life in November with sales and remortgages both rising, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed yesterday. Growth is expected to continue in the months before March, after which first-time buyers will no longer benefit from stamp duty exemption. Overall lending for house purchase rose four per [...]
Loophole stops industry from going full speed October 4, 2012 FINALLY, some good news. Not only did car sales improve by more than expected in September, but the gains came mostly through consumer spending rather than corporate sales. But wait – a new car? That’s a pretty luxurious purchase in these straitened times, surely the squeezed middle can’t be cutting back on everything else and [...]