UK house prices bounce back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warns more property being put up for sale could dampen further inflation. 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 three [...]
WHAT DOES THE CHANCELLOR’S BUDGET MEAN FOR YOU? March 24, 2010 KATE SOLWAY, 30 FUNDS CONTROLLER AT PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM COGNETAS Kate is single and lives in rented accommodation with flatmates. She also owns two investment properties – one a London flat with a mortgage which she rents out, and the other a holiday home under construction in Cape Verde, which she owns outright and will [...]
China surges past Japan in symbolic shift August 16, 2010 CHINA’S per capita annual income is just $3,600 (£2,299) compared to Japan’s $37,800 but in the second quarter of this year the once impoverished communist state surged past Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. The faltering Japanese economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the three months to June, an annualised pace of [...]
The markets are on the turn, but only in the short-term July 11, 2010 THE success of Paul the octopus at predicting the outcome of World Cup matches has left many spread betters green with envy at his powers. What would be better than being able to predict with accuracy the bottom of the market? But in the absence of any psychic ability, traders have to rely on market [...]
The markets are on the turn, but only in the short-term July 11, 2010 THE success of Paul the octopus at predicting the outcome of World Cup matches has left many spread betters green with envy at his powers. What would be better than being able to predict with accuracy the bottom of the market? But in the absence of any psychic ability, traders have to rely on market [...]
BUYING March 25, 2010 Camilla Dell MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q.Dear Camilla, I am looking to sell my house in the near future and I was wondering how the property will be valued. A.The process of valuation in the current property market has become a very tricky business. Traditionally, valuers have depended, at least partially, on sale prices [...]
Wall St surges as confidence picks up September 1, 2010 WALL Street posted its best day in eight weeks yesterday as investor mood brightened after better-than-expected factory data from the United States and China. Investors jumped on stocks across the market, with more than six shares rising for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, while on the Nasdaq, nearly five stocks [...]
Fall in house prices lets in new buyers January 3, 2010 LOWER house prices and falling interest rates have made homes significantly more affordable for first-time buyers in the past 12 months, according to the Halifax. The average price paid by a firsttime buyer in 2009 was affordable in nearly 40 per cent of local authority districts, compared with 24 per cent in 2008 and just [...]
GM snaps up AmeriCredit July 22, 2010 US car giant General Motors (GM) yesterday said it would acquire auto finance company AmeriCredit for $3.5bn (£2.29bn) in cash in a deal aimed at easing financing terms for subprime car buyers. The deal, which remains subject to approval by AmeriCredit’s shareholders, would give GM a captive finance arm for the first time since it [...]
US home sales edge upwards February 2, 2010 Pending sales of previously owned US homes edged up as expected in December, a survey showed yesterday, which should help to calm fears of renewed weakness in the troubled housing sector. But the housing recovery remains slow and painful, with other data showing the percentage of empty privately owned homes rose to 2.7 per cent [...]