What the other papers say this morning September 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Noble Foods hit by eggs surplus Noble Foods, Britain’s largest egg producer by volume, reported a 22 per cent slide in pre-tax profits last year, providing further evidence of the squeeze on the egg industry. BP in talks to sell off refinery BP has held talks to sell its Texas City refinery to [...]
HOUSE PRICES ON THE SLIDE July 30, 2012 House prices across the country fell for the first time in seven months in July, with even resilient London and the south east of England seeing a slowdown in growth, claims research out today from Hometrack. Rising house prices in London and the south east have been offsetting the decline across the rest of the [...]
Carpetright sales boosted by bed business July 24, 2012 Carpetright, Britain’s biggest flooring retailer, said quarterly underlying UK sales growth picked-up a touch, helped by the development of its bed business, an extended laminate range and store refurbishment. The firm said on Tuesday sales at British stores open over a year rose 1.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 21 July. That compared [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 19, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call to limit China’s UK nuclear stake Chinese companies competing for one of the UK’s biggest nuclear projects are unlikely to end up with a majority stake in any winning consortium in an attempt to allay concerns about Beijing gaining control of the Horizon reactor programme. Olympics effect on Scottish vote in debate [...]
Peregrine CEO asset hunt reveals few luxuries August 6, 2012 The hunt for the assets of Peregrine Financial Group CEO Russell Wasendorf Sr. has yielded a backyard pool, 2,000 bottles of wine, pickup trucks and some high-end photography equipment. But a receiver appointed for Wasendorf’s assets in the firm’s bankruptcy says that so far there is little to suggest that the CEO, who in July [...]
Permira plans £400m Birds Eye refinancing July 8, 2012 Private equity house Permira is considering a refinancing of frozen food firm Birds Eye, which would land the firm a €500m (£397m) windfall. Under the terms of the refinancing, the level of Birds Eye’s debt would expand to almost €2bn from €1.4bn. Permira, which bought the UK-based frozen food producer from Unilever for €1.6bn in [...]
Home builders’ morale in the US stretches to five-year high June 18, 2012 THE OUTLOOK for America’s housing market received a boost yesterday as confidence among US builders climbed to a fresh five-year high. A widely-regarded survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo edged up to an index score of 29 for June. May’s score was revised downwards, but still showed an [...]
JK Rowling’s new book puts politics before originality September 27, 2012 IWAS never totally convinced by Harry Potter. Evil was a little too obvious – it would appear with a theatrical dimming of the lights, dominating, cruel and selfish. And good was too obviously good. JK Rowling likes to neatly marshal her leading actors, and to draw her readers along a pre-determined path towards an inevitable [...]
June house prices in fastest drop since October July 10, 2012 British house prices fell last month at their fastest pace since October as demand failed to pick up and the number of properties being put up for sale dropped off, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) seasonally adjusted house price balance fell to -22 from a downwardly revised -17. [...]
Returns diminish as central banks act July 15, 2012 FIVE years on from the start of the financial crisis, have markets become immune to central bank action? Three recently unveiled another batch of stimulus: the Bank of England increased its asset purchase programme by £50bn; the European Central Bank cut its marginal lending rate, cut interest rates by 25 basis points and, perhaps most [...]