London set to escape house price slump February 7, 2011 THE UK’s housing market slump has continued into this year, with demand, supply and prices all dropping in January, it was revealed today. However, London looks set to buck the trend. Prices in the capital are expected to increase over the next three months, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) survey. [...]
Margin focus boosts Taylor Wimpey profit March 3, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey improved its operating margins to post an underlying annual profit ahead of expectations. Revenues remained flat for the construction firm at £2.6bn in the year to 31 December 2010, whilst the number of homes completed dropped to 14,272 from 15,166 a year earlier. An increase in average selling prices helped the builder [...]
Danish provider of UK public services plots £1.5bn listing February 17, 2011 DANISH outsourcer ISS, one of Britain’s largest providers of public sector services, said yesterday it expected to raise $2.4bn (£1.5bn) with an initial public offering (IPO). The firm, which counts hospital catering staff and cleaners amongst the 41,000 people it employs in Britain, is considering a Copenhagen listing in one of the biggest stock market [...]
US mood rises despite house prices falling January 25, 2011 HOUSE prices in the US fell for a fifth consecutive month in November, a well regarded survey revealed yesterday. However, there was better news for the US recovery as official data showed consumer confidence hitting a seven-month high in January. The US Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment jumped to 60.6 this month, [...]
US mood rises despite house prices falling January 25, 2011 HOUSE prices in the US fell for a fifth consecutive month in November, a well regarded survey revealed yesterday. However, there was better news for the US recovery as official data showed consumer confidence hitting a seven-month high in January. The US Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment jumped to 60.6 this month, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 9, 2011 Avoca Capital Holdings The European credit investment manager has hired Robert Burns (pictured) as director for sales and marketing, based in London. Burns has more than 20 years’ experience in sales. He joins the firm from Citigroup, where he was director of structured product sales, and has worked previously at Lehman Brothers in Europe, where [...]
John Lewis in sharp sales rise January 21, 2011 Sales growth at department store chain John Lewis slowed dramatically last week as consumers tightened their belts after spending freely in the post-Christmas sales. The employee-owned retailer, which also runs upmarket grocery chain Waitrose, said on Friday department store sales increased 4.1 per cent to £55.8m in the week to January 15. Sales in the [...]
King lifts lid on inflation error February 16, 2011 Inflation was higher than official figures suggested throughout the housing bubble and credit boom, the Bank of England admitted yesterday. Consumer price inflation was 0.3 per cent higher than previously thought every year between 1997 and 2009, due to errors on clothing prices. Sales prices were wrongly assumed to be the norm, distorting the Office [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 8, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BRUSSELS URGED TO END BIG FOUR DOMINANCE Four international accountancy networks have taken the unusual step of jointly calling for changes to the audit market in Europe and arguing that regulatory intervention is needed to dilute the power of the profession’s biggest operators. BDO International, RSM International and Grant Thornton International, the world’s [...]
EMERGING MARKETS BOOST BURBERRY January 16, 2011 BRITISH luxury fashion house Burberry is likely to show a benefit from strong emerging markets, particularly in Asia, when it publishes figures for its fiscal third-quarter tomorrow. Analysts forecast revenue of about £436m, with like-for-like retail sales up four to eight per cent. The company’s share price has seen steady growth under the guidance of chief [...]