Confidence fell in September October 12, 2010 FEARS among consumers of imminent government measures to slash public spending have intensified, prompting confidence to plummet last month and wiping out the gain seen in August, the Nationwide September survey will say today. The headline confidence index slumped nine points to 53, its weakest in more than a year and well below its long-term [...]
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 [...]
Whitbread to expand faster as profits jump 20pc April 28, 2011 Pub and hotel operator Whitbread has pushed pre-tax profits up 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 and committed to further expansion in core brands such as Costa Coffee and Premier Inn. Whitbread produced £287.1m underlying pre-tax profit, up from £239.1m in the same quarter in 2010, as like for like sales increased [...]
Gold hits new record high against dollar April 6, 2011 GOLD soared to a fresh record high in New York yesterday, explained widely by spiralling inflation and tumbling confidence in the US dollar. Silver also spiked, to a 31-year high, with investors turning to both metals as “safe havens” amid economic uncertainty and historically accommodative monetary policy. “The record price of gold is only coming [...]
Punch profit falls as business splits April 12, 2011 PUNCH Taverns yesterday reported a fall in half-year profits, as it splits into two separate businesses. Pre-tax profits for the 28 weeks to 5 March came in at £61m, down from the £66m recorded a year earlier. Like-for-like sales at the group’s managed pubs rose 4.9 per cent over the period, and by 8.2 per [...]
House prices rise 0.5 per cent March 31, 2011 UK house prices rose 0.5 per cent in March compared with February, and 0.1 per cent compared with March 2009, Nationwide’s house price index has shown. February’s price growth was also revised upwards to 0.7 per cent from 0.3 per cent originally reported. But Global Insight chief economist Howard Archer warned that the growth was [...]
Consumer confidence up in US but housing market shaky January 25, 2010 CONSUMER confidence in January hit its highest level since September 2008 in the US, according to new data. A decline in job losses in recent months and a resurgent stock market have helped improve consumers’ mood after the US recession that ended last year. Yet concerns remain about the sustainability of the recovery after the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Risk appetite spikes in 2011 April 10, 2011 RISK appetite at FTSE companies has hit its highest rate since a leading survey of chief financial officers began in 2007, it was revealed today. Four in ten (41 per cent) CFOs think this is a good time to take on greater risk on their firms’ balance sheets, according to a Deloitte survey – up [...]