Charles Dickens’ penny savings bank up for sale May 22, 2014 Grand financial institution sure to be a hit in trendy Clerkenwell BUILDINGS that do business usually stay that way. It used to be rare for people to live in old offices and factories, but now many more are coming onto the market as agents take advantage of the residential boom. “I certainly have never come [...]
Charles Dickens’ penny savings bank up for sale May 22, 2014 Grand financial institution sure to be a hit in trendy Clerkenwell BUILDINGS that do business usually stay that way. It used to be rare for people to live in old offices and factories, but now many more are coming onto the market as agents take advantage of the residential boom. “I certainly have never come [...]
Surging construction sector loses some momentum in March April 2, 2014 The UK's construction sector is roaring a little less loudly this month. The latest purchasing managers' index data from Markit shows a sector PMI of 62.5 in March, below last month's 62.6. That's despite economists predicting that we'd see a rise to 63 this month. Nonetheless, that's a spectacular pace of growth in the sector. [...]
Chinese factory decline slows May 22, 2014 CHINA’S powerful industrial base slowed only slightly this month, according to HSBC’s index of the country’s manufacturers – which revealed the best performance since September. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reading for Chinese factories rose to 49.7 yesterday, very narrowly below the neutral 50 mark, indicating a slight contraction for the fifth month. Analysts had [...]
Managers point to contracting Chinese industry during March March 24, 2014 CONCERNS for the strength of the Chinese economy were heightened yesterday, as an indicator suggested that the manufacturing sector has contracted in the first quarter. Markit and HSBC’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) suggests that the country’s colossal industrial sector declined in March, with a score of 48.1, below 50 and indicating a small drop [...]
Stock markets hit record high April 2, 2014 BOTH the S&P 500 and the FTSE All World index hit record highs yesterday, signalling strong growth across global developed markets. The S&P 500 index closed at a record high of 1,890.90 and the FTSE All World hit 272.82, the highest level since the financial crisis hit in 2007. The surge in the S&P was [...]
Diamond buys African bank March 31, 2014 EX-BARCLAYS boss Bob Diamond yesterday bought his way back into the banking sector in a $265m (£192.3m) deal to buy an African bank. Diamond’s shell firm Atlas Mara snapped up a majority stake in BancABC, a Botswana-based lender with operations across the continent. It is also buying the ADC African Development Corporation. “Our objective is to [...]
UK to goldplate new forex rules June 2, 2014 CURRENCY traders in the City face extra strong rules governing how they behave, as part of a British crackdown that is expected to go above and beyond international efforts. George Osborne is thought to want to be particularly tough on foreign exchange traders in the wake of manipulation investigations into forex and Libor benchmarks. Global [...]
Tech firms grab the most office space in London’s Square Mile March 17, 2014 TECHNOLOGY, media and telecoms (TMT) firms have stepped up their presence in the Square Mile after taking up almost of a quarter of all office space lettings in the City last year, figures out today show. According to research for the City of London by property agents JLL and DTZ, tech firms snapped up 1m [...]
Ocado delivers a profit but sales growth slowing July 1, 2014 Shares in Ocado slid 4.3 per cent yesterday despite the online grocer moving into the black in the first half, paving the way for its first annual profit in its 13-year history. The company said pre-tax profits totalled £7.5m for the 24 weeks to 18 May, following a £3.8m loss last year, thanks [...]