Property gets a boost from duty changes March 24, 2010 THE government yesterday handed first-time home buyers a boost by scrapping stamp duty for houses costing less than £250,000 for two years in a measure that will be paid for by those at the higher end of the property ladder. Chancellor Alistair Darling has increased stamp duty on houses worth £1m or more from four [...]
House prices bouncing back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warn more property being put up for sale could dampen further price rises. The latest house price index shows prices rose by 1.1 per cent during March, partly offsetting February’s 1.6 per cent fall. The rise means prices during the first [...]
Britons hit by uncertainty September 26, 2010 BRITISH households felt their wallets stretched even further in September as a combination of rampant inflation, job market uncertainty and static incomes caused a marked deterioration in households’ finances, the Markit Household Finance Index will show today. Markit’s survey revealed that 27 per cent of households reported a deterioration in September compared to just 7 [...]
Mandelson to create a Post Office bank March 28, 2010 LORD Mandelson will turn the Post Office into a “People’s Bank” if Labour wins the general election. Key to the initiative is a potential deal with RBS and Santander to allow the banks’ customers to access the new Post Office accounts, and its subsidised offers. Negotiations are underway as the government seeks to ensure at [...]
Margins too tight to bear September 16, 2010 THE British dairy market is notoriously competitive, but investors were not prepared for yesterday’s shock profit warning from Robert Wiseman. Although its first-half numbers are in line, the second half is going to turn sour. Full-year profits are now forecast to be £7m lower than thought. A crushing round of price negotiations with Tesco is [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GO-AHEAD’S RESULTS? September 2, 2010 JOHN LAWSON | INVESTEC What it has done in a challenging market is encouraging. Its focus on maintaining the dividend is a very important sign of its confidence and commitment. Right now nobody knows what the government is going to do in order to cut spending, but it seems for Go-Ahead it might not be [...]
House prices drop for second month September 2, 2010 House prices fell for the second month in a row in August, according to the Nationwide building society. Prices dropped 0.9 per cent last month, following a 0.5 per cent fall decline in July. It is the first time that prices have fallen for two consecutive months since February 2009. The average UK house price [...]
House prices drop for second month September 2, 2010 House prices fell for the second month in a row in August, according to the Nationwide building society. Prices dropped 0.9 per cent last month, following a 0.5 per cent fall decline in July. It is the first time that prices have fallen for two consecutive months since February 2009. The average UK house price [...]
asia’s moon to brighten wine orders September 2, 2010 MD & Founder of Fine Wine Merchant Bordeaux Index AS THE wine market reluctantly drags itself back to work after the long summer break we approach what has become one of the defining periods of the trading year, the run-up to Asia’s mid-autumn festival of the moon, which falls on 22 September this year. This [...]
CONTROLLING COSTS August 26, 2010 Q.I am thinking about selling my business in the near future. How do I go about finding a buyer? A.The most common route is to get in touch with corporate finance advisers, says Jenny Robertson, senior associate at Stevens & Bolton, a law firm. “The first thing you need to do is to get a [...]