US mortgage applications rise… May 25, 2011 Mortgage applications in America rose by 1.1 per cent in the week ending 20 May, in another positive sign for ailing US housing market. On Tuesday new home sales were reported at increasing by 7.3 per cent in April.
OFT probes Amazon deal to buy rival July 5, 2011 THE Office of Fair Trading has launched an enquiry into Amazon’s acquisition of one of its biggest UK rivals The Book Depository. The watchdog will now decide whether the merger could be detrimental to competition. Amazon and The Book Depository make up two of the top three online retailers in the UK, with Play.com in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BREVAN HOWARD CAPITALISES ON TURMOIL Brevan Howard, the world’s largest macro hedge fund, has made close to $1.5bn over the past three weeks on the back of turmoil in the global markets. In a month in which equity markets worldwide have seen declines of more than 10 per cent, the gain comes as [...]
Stress test relief to provide a lift to markets on open July 17, 2011 AND the winner is…” direction for stocks this morning will be driven by the results of the European bank stress tests, which were released at 5pm on Friday, after European stock markets closed. A grand total of eight banks failed the tests, but that number was well below the worst fears of some analysts who [...]
Focus DIY to close after failing to find buyer as 3,000 jobs face axe May 25, 2011 HOME improvement retailer Focus DIY is to close with the possible loss of up to 3,000 jobs, after the administrator was unable to find buyers for the bulk of its stores, it was announced yesterday. Administrators at Ernst & Young said they had appointed retail consultants Gordon Brothers to advise on the sale of all [...]
Nokia boss confirms 2011 release of WP7 June 21, 2011 NOKIA boss Stephen Elop yesterday said he expects the first wave of Windows Phone 7 (WP7) handsets to be released later this year, as revealed by City A.M. earlier this month. Elop said he has “increased confidence” that troubled Nokia will launch its first device based on the platform by the end of 2011, after [...]
Nokia boss confirms 2011 release of WP7 June 21, 2011 NOKIA boss Stephen Elop yesterday said he expects the first wave of Windows Phone 7 (WP7) handsets to be released later this year, as revealed by City A.M. earlier this month. Elop said he has “increased confidence” that troubled Nokia will launch its first device based on the platform by the end of 2011, after [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 20, 2011 Hamptons International The property consultant has appointed Giles Maude (pictured) and Graham Jones to its development land team, reporting to head of land Simon Grier-Jones. Maude joins the firm’s Southern Home Counties division as an associate in the Esher office, and Jones will lead the Cotswold and West team as an associate director in Cheltenham. [...]
US shares pause on budget worries July 20, 2011 US stocks closed near unchanged yesterday, a day after Wall Street’s best rally since March, as the oncoming debt ceiling deadline overshadowed strong earnings from Apple. Apple hit another all-time high one day after the maker of the iPhone and iPad reported quarterly revenues that far exceeded expectations. The stock jumped 2.7 per cent to [...]
US shares pause on budget worries July 20, 2011 US stocks closed near unchanged yesterday, a day after Wall Street’s best rally since March, as the oncoming debt ceiling deadline overshadowed strong earnings from Apple. Apple hit another all-time high one day after the maker of the iPhone and iPad reported quarterly revenues that far exceeded expectations. The stock jumped 2.7 per cent to [...]