Demand for HD television buoys Pace October 28, 2010 Pace, the world’s largest set-top box maker, has managed to maintain the blistering rate of sales it set in the wake of the World Cup. Demand for its high-definition services continues to rocket, solidifying the firm’s position at the top of the market, ahead of bitter rival Motorola. The UK-based firm now says it is [...]
Confidence is on the up in spite of cuts September 13, 2010 CONSUMER confidence rose last month bucking the downward trend of the previous three months as expectations for the future of the economy appeared to improve on the back of positive second quarter GDP growth and improving employment statistics. Nationwide’s consumer confidence index rose five points to 61 in August although the index remains significantly below [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO Y0U THINK OF TUI’S TRADING UPDATE? October 5, 2010 WYN ELLIS| NUMIS Demand has held up well over the summer and TUI appears to be encouraged by the apparent return of consumer confidence. Additional restructuring is required however, notably at Corsair (possibly£60m) and in the UK (around £20m). High levels of exceptional costs are a sadly recurrent feature. CHRIS ALEXANDER| BNP PARIBAS This morning’s [...]
Mortgage lending is down 7 per cent October 20, 2010 GROSS mortgage lending fell to just £12bn last month, which was the lowest September total for a decade, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed yesterday. This was 7 per cent lower on September 2009 when lending was £12.9bn and 1 per cent lower on the previous month. The September 2010 figure was [...]
Sentance: Raise interest rates now October 22, 2010 The Bank of England should start to raise interest rates from a record low of 0.5 per cent because Britain’s economy and global conditions have improved, Bank policymaker Andrew Sentance has said. Sentance, who has been voting for a quarter-point rate rise since June, said the economic turnaround means the UK economy needs less stimulus [...]
Kingfisher in warning over tough times September 16, 2010 KINGFISHER yesterday said that it had beaten its first half profit forecast – but the home improvement giant warned that consumer confidence would not be fully restored until at least 2012. The B&Q owner made a pre-tax profit of £354m in the 26 weeks to 31 July, which it achieved through cost cutting rather than [...]
Kingfisher in warning over tough times September 16, 2010 KINGFISHER yesterday said that it had beaten its first half profit forecast – but the home improvement giant warned that consumer confidence would not be fully restored until at least 2012. The B&Q owner made a pre-tax profit of £354m in the 26 weeks to 31 July, which it achieved through cost cutting rather than [...]
Car sales fall for third time October 6, 2010 CAR SALES in the UK were down for a third month, after September registrations dropped by 8.9 per cent compared to the previous year. According to monthly data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) the fall in sales meant that 335,246 cars were bought last month versus the 367,929 which were sold [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF A COUNTRY SUCH AS IRELAND OR SPAIN DEFAULTING? September 30, 2010 MARK GROVES | EIB “Not directly in terms of my work however a major country defaulting would affect everyone through the direct country risk and the risk from the exposure our clients have. The knock-on effects on the financial services industry as a whole would most certainly be a cause for concern.” YASMINE MOEZINIA | [...]
Get ready for changes in bank sector November 23, 2010 CUSTOMER confidence in the banks is low. You would therefore think that the time was ripe for new entrants to the banking market. There was a time when scarcely a week went by without somebody saying they were about to become a bank. Tesco, Virgin and Metro Bank are lining up to offer the full [...]