Amazon’s gorilla warfare teaches a tactical lesson March 21, 2012 PUBLISHING is full of contradictions. Over the last decade, business book publishers have been full of advice they never followed themselves. The industry that brought us the handbook for the digital age, The Long Tail, didn’t attend to its prediction that mass markets would fragment into thousands of micro markets. Did You Spot The Gorilla, [...]
It’s hard to make a deal when democracy keeps on changing the rules May 8, 2012 WHAT’S the deal? That is what any sensible person wants to know before investing or otherwise transacting. The terms may be stated but that is not enough. People also need to know that these terms won’t change on them. Between private parties, including businesses, this confidence is created by enforceable contracts and by reputation. A [...]
House prices flat as Britons stuck renting February 26, 2012 HALF of Britons do not expect to buy a house until they are in their forties, a survey showed today, while the housing market stayed flat again through February. Average rents rose to £890 per month at the end of 2011, but 61 per cent of renters cannot afford to buy, according to a survey [...]
A Facebook bank is far more likely than you imagine May 13, 2012 THE internet gives banks innovative ways of providing services to customers. But it also brings new dangers. Online giants like PayPal, Facebook and Amazon are leading the way on customer experience. Could they go further, and take on banks directly? Facebook has already moved into the world of “virtual currency”. Facebook Credits, costing 10 cents [...]
Irish Life & Permanent losses widen April 2, 2012 Irish Life & Permanent’s banking arm reported a wider full-year loss due to soaring impairment charges ahead of a split from the group’s life division and a government decision on whether it can remain as a standalone lender. Once lauded as the only Irish lender to avoid a state bailout due to its lack of [...]
Persimmon to return £1.9bn to investors February 29, 2012 SHARES IN PERSIMMON soared to their highest in almost four years yesterday after the UK housebuilder unveiled plans to return £1.9bn in surplus cash to shareholders. Persimmon said it will pay investors a total of 620p per share through dividends over nine-and-a-half years starting in 2013, and will remain largely debt-free throughout the period. The [...]
Economic uncertainty keeps housing market weighed down during August September 12, 2011 THE UNSTABLE economic outlook kept the UK’s housing market subdued last month, a survey published this morning suggests. The average number of house sales per surveyor fell to 14 in August, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has found – “taking transactions back to June 2009 levels”. Nearly eight in 10 surveyors reported “general [...]
Mortgage lending in surprise lift in January February 29, 2012 Mortgage lending and mortgage approvals for house purchase in Britain posted a surprisingly strong rise in January, official data showed in a sign that the sluggish housing market is improving. The figures support forecasts for a pick-up in consumption this year as the housing market is a vital component of consumers’ wealth in Britain. However, [...]
Persimmon to return £1.9bn to shareholders February 28, 2012 Housebuilder Persimmon posted a slightly stronger than expected jump in full-year profit on Tuesday and said it would return £1.9bn of surplus cash to shareholders. The York-based company said it would return the cash through dividends over nine-and-a-half years, starting in 2013, and remain largely debt-free throughout the period. The company is still investing in [...]
Taylor Wimpey restores dividend February 29, 2012 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said it had resumed paying a dividend as its tactic of focussing on margins rather than volume helped enable a swing back to profit. The company reported an underlying pretax profit of £90m in the 12 months to end-December, compared to a loss of 28 million pounds in 2010, on continuing operations [...]