London Report: FTSE dips after HSBC’s profits miss forecasts August 5, 2013 BRITAIN’S benchmark equity index fell yesterday, pulled down by HSBC after the heavyweight bank’s interim profits missed forecasts, giving HSBC shares their worst day in well over a year. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down 0.4 per cent, or 28.29 points, at 6,619.58 points. The decline marked its second consecutive fall after a four-day [...]
A transparent system of company ownership would attract business to the UK July 17, 2013 DIGGING down to find out who is really in control of a company – and to whom the profits are going – is not easy. A raft of clever tricks is available to those who, for one reason or another, might want to hide their ownership or association. Why is this a problem? The World [...]
London risks its prosperity if it fails to join the global rise of the airport city July 21, 2013 THE deadline has now passed for interested parties to lodge their proposals with the Airport Commission for increasing Britain’s airport capacity. Much has been said of the virtues and vices of each idea, but the basic reasons why London so desperately needs this expansion are equally important. Transport and connectivity are inextricably linked to the [...]
Cameron’s last ditch gamble to buy some time on Europe June 9, 2013 ONE of my favourite political leaflets of recent years was produced by the Liberal Democrats. Accompanied by a picture of a youthful, smiling Nick Clegg, it castigates the Tories for only promising a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, rather than offering a much broader in or out poll. “It’s time to give the British people [...]
King of the supermarket: The long-serving boss of Sainsbury’s talks shop September 1, 2013 Justin King speaks to Elizabeth Fournier as he nears 10 years at the top of the UK’s third-biggest retailer IT’S not been an easy 2013 for Britain’s supermarkets. From January’s discovery of horsemeat in the UK food chain to the disastrous collapse of a Bangladeshi clothing factory in April, retail bosses have been forced to [...]
Bovis wary of false dawn in housing sector February 25, 2013 BOVIS Homes chief executive David Ritchie said the housebuilder has enjoyed a positive start to the spring selling season but cautioned against talk of a recovery in the mortgage market. Ritchie said while government measures to boost mortgage lending are beginning to work, he was cautious about “calling a false dawn” and said that mortgage [...]
Analyst Views | Did Persimmon’s full year results meet your expectations? February 25, 2013 ROBIN HARDY PEEL HUNT Good margin growth in the second half is likely to edge up forecasts, only modestly, but still showing that growth and high income are possible in this sector. We still prefer to see the UK house builders making high distributions, and Persimmon ticks this box very strongly. KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWN [...]
The end of too big to fail is fast approaching but there is more left to be done February 27, 2013 I AM a supporter of free enterprise, yet I represent an industry that has been the biggest recipient of a state bail-out in British history. It is something that critics of banks have never ceased to remind me. “Tell me,” said an old colleague, “why the banks’ profits are privatised, but their losses are nationalised”. [...]
Funding for Lending isn’t working: Why the Bank is missing the point April 29, 2013 IN THE debate about why Britain’s monetary policy is not working, there has been too much focus on whether the Bank of England should buy more government bonds or move to negative interest rates. Both miss the point. The primary reason monetary policy is not working is that the transmission mechanism is broken. There is [...]
The Debate: Will Tory divisions over same-sex marriage damage the party’s re-election prospects? February 5, 2013 YES Paul Goodman The same-sex marriage bill was not in the Conservative manifesto, the coalition agreement, or the last Queen’s speech. No green or white discussion paper has preceded it. But it was “whacked” through the Commons – to borrow the ugly but efficient word deployed by Boris Johnson – on a whipped timetable. It [...]