UK focus on ECB meeting outcome September 2, 2012 THURSDAY will be the highlight of the week for economists, with all eyes on results of the European Central Bank policy meeting. While the market waits to hear the latest plans to fix the Eurozone’s debt problem, the Bank of England will also be announcing its latest interest rate decision and asset purchase plan. However, [...]
Facebook’s British employees are set to become millionaires October 10, 2012 FACEBOOK employees in the UK are set to cash in from the company’s initial public offering (IPO) this year, with London-based employees sitting on $146m (£91.2m) in shares. The social media giant’s UK accounts, published on Companies House yesterday, revealed that Facebook handed out around 7.3m shares in the company to London staff before it [...]
AA owner gears up for mooted insurance sale September 23, 2012 ACROMAS, the private equity backed owner of AA and Saga, has taken the first step in a possible break up of its portfolio after appointing Ernst & Young to value its business – opening the door for a sale of the firms. The heavily indebted investment house has to liquidate or refinance its assets by [...]
House prices show biggest fall in a year August 14, 2012 British house prices experienced their most widespread falls for a year in the three months to July, and surveyors do not expect the outlook to improve over the next 12 months, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed today. The figures, which also show sellers hanging back, reinforce a generally gloomy [...]
Prospective first time buyers hit by the escalating cost of renting August 9, 2012 HOPEFUL first time home buyers are trapped in an increasingly expensive rental market, according to a series of separate studies released yesterday and today. The cost of renting a home shot up by 4.3 per cent in the year to May-July, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) explaining that “many would-be buyers continue [...]
Surveyors: housing woe is here to stay July 9, 2012 THE HOUSING market remained depressed in June, as demand stayed low and supply shrunk, according to data published yesterday by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). House prices slumped further, with 22 per cent more respondents reporting drops than upturn. Though London was an exception, prices in the capital still grew at a slower [...]
The pace quickens for London’s investment bankers September 13, 2012 Maybe it was the news that Tony Blair had intervened to reignite the City’s biggest takeover of the year. Maybe it’s just the natural gathering pace of autumn, when business tends to hot up. Or maybe it’s the raw fear of job losses or even the hope of a more stable Eurozone backdrop. Whatever the [...]
US stocks flat as bellwether cuts forecasts September 18, 2012 US stocks ended flat to slightly lower yesterday after bellwether FedEx cut its profit forecast and investors pulled back after last week’s rally on central bank stimulus. Falling oil prices weighed on the market for a second day, with the S&P 500 energy index, down 0.7 per cent, the day’s biggest decliner among the S&P’s [...]
American existing house sales fall May 19, 2011 Sales of previously owned US homes fell in April, a trade group said yesterday, in a sign that the country’s housing market is struggling to recover from the recent financial crisis. Sales slipped 0.8 per cent month-on-month, the National Association of Realtors revealed.
Your first move onto the property ladder September 9, 2012 UK HOUSE prices saw their biggest fall for a year in the three months to July 2012, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). But the capital is bucking the trend. London property prices grew by 6.5 per cent over the last year, according to last quarter’s Greater London Authority London Housing Market [...]