Rent rises start slowing but still exceed incomes November 17, 2011 RENTS hit a new high in October, according to LSL Property Services’ monthly buy-to-let index, published today, though the rate of increase fell to its lowest since February. The average rent in England and Wales rose by 0.2 per cent in October to £720 per month, the index showed. The increase compares with a jump [...]
SELL May 24, 2012 MANAGING DIRECTOR KAY & CO Q. I am going to sell my property and I understand that most enquiries now stem from the internet. How can I ensure that my property stands out from the rest? A. Statistics show that 75 per cent of all property related searches now stem from the internet. There are [...]
Thai food giant mulls £2.5bn Birds Eye offer May 13, 2012 A THAI food firm has emerged as the latest suitor in the £2.5bn battle for the frozen foods group behind Birds Eye. Charoen Pokphand Foods, Thailand’s largest agribusiness firm, is preparing a bid for Iglo, which has been put up for sale by buyout firm Permira. The first deadline for bids was on Thursday when [...]
Osborne to find cash for UK builders November 27, 2011 TOMORROW, George Osborne will deliver his Autumn Statement, supposedly focusing on economic growth. There will also be fresh data on government finances from the Office of Budget Responsibility. The statement is likely to contain a mixture of bad news for taxpayers as well as government subsidy for pet ideas. It is unlikely to contain anything [...]
FTSE jumps as Chinese rate cut and UK services stats hearten traders June 7, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares hit a three-week high yesterday as China’s surprise move to cut interest rates and firm UK services sector data boosted investors’ appetite for risk, although charts signalled strong resistance on the way up. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments that her country stood ready to use the existing instruments already created in the [...]
Vickers report morphs from a fudge to a whitewash April 12, 2012 JUST six months after the publication of the Independent Commission on Banking’s final report, Sir John Vickers’ recommendations on boosting competitiveness are falling on deaf ears. Initially, Vickers recommended in his interim report that Lloyds be made to sell “substantially” more than the 632 branches it is being forced to put on the block to [...]
Economic uncertainty keeps housing market weighed down during August September 12, 2011 THE UNSTABLE economic outlook kept the UK’s housing market subdued last month, a survey published this morning suggests. The average number of house sales per surveyor fell to 14 in August, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has found – “taking transactions back to June 2009 levels”. Nearly eight in 10 surveyors reported “general [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BRAZIL’S BTG BANK TO CEMENT RAPID RISE WITH $15BN FLOAT BTG Pactual is set to float later this month in a deal that will value the rapidly growing Brazilian investment bank’s equity at up to $15bn and the shareholdings of a swathe of executives at more than $150m each. BSE HEAD APPOINTED TO [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BRAZIL’S BTG BANK TO CEMENT RAPID RISE WITH $15BN FLOAT BTG Pactual is set to float later this month in a deal that will value the rapidly growing Brazilian investment bank’s equity at up to $15bn and the shareholdings of a swathe of executives at more than $150m each. BSE HEAD APPOINTED TO [...]
Let’s not go back to sub-prime loans November 21, 2011 THERE are two ways one can address a problem caused by faulty policies: by tackling its root causes – or by addressing some of its manifestations, and risk creating more issues thanks to the law of unintended consequences which plagues all government actions. Regrettably, when it comes to house prices, the government is largely going [...]