Bovis back in the black but remains wary August 23, 2010 Bovis Homes swung to a pre-tax profit in the first half of the year yesterday, with the housebuilder saying that sales are holding up during the sluggish summer months. “ We have seen a remarkable stability of sales rates week on week, clearly people talk about the summer being quieter than the spring, we’ve seen [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 16, 2010 ASHMORE Singer rates the fund manager a “buy” and has upgraded its target price to 360p. The broker says Ashmore has made the most of the financial crisis by buying cheap assets, and that its range of new products will boost the firm. It adds that the firm’s performance fees of £82.9m for the year [...]
US remains downbeat on economy September 28, 2010 US CONSUMER confidence fell to its lowest level since February in September, underscoring lingering worries about the strength of the economic recovery, while home prices dipped in July. The Conference Board’s index of consumer attitudes fell to 48.5 in September from a revised 53.2 in August, hit by a weak labour market and business conditions. [...]
FTSE ends lower in thin trade October 4, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower in thin volumes yesterday, ahead of key macroeconomic data later in the week, with BP hit after issuing a €2bn (£1.72bn) bond to help pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The FTSE 100 ended down 0.7 per cent at 5,555.97 points, after closing up 44.28 points, or [...]
Bovey’s failed business now up for sale March 28, 2010 IMAGINE Homes, the property business owned by Anthea Turner’s husband Grant Bovey is to be put up for sale by administrators Deloitte. It is Bovey’s ninth failed business and adds to the long list of embarrassments for the celebrity couple. Imagine Homes bought properties from developers and sold them on to investors with supposed guaranteed [...]
PM GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO MORE QE October 11, 2010 DAVID Cameron yesterday insisted the government would not delay spending cuts if the recovery starts to slow, but gave his strongest hint yet that he would support another round of quantitative easing. Describing himself as a “fiscal conservative but a monetary activist”, the Prime Minister used his first official press conference to play down suggestions [...]
Rise in house prices grinds to sharp halt August 10, 2010 THERE was further proof that the property market is cooling down yesterday, after government figures showed house prices were flat on the month in June. Figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) showed that seasonally adjusted average prices were unchanged across the UK in June. That cut the annual rate of increase [...]
Bank lending to individuals stays weak August 24, 2010 MORTGAGE lending dropped to a five-month low in July with just 33,700 home loans approved, taking the annual percentage decline to 18.5 per cent, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said yesterday. Tighter lending conditions combined with subdued demand for home loans pushed mortgage approvals down last month. This is despite recent calls for the banks, [...]
New contract wins enable Mears to raise its dividend August 17, 2010 Mears Group, the social housing maintenance company, posted a 42 per cent increase in first-half pre-tax profit to £13.2m on the back of new contract wins. The Gloucester-based firm said yesterday it booked a significant amount of new business from local councils during the past 12 months. The new wins include a £200m contract with [...]
Lupus forgets Hutchings with £17m profit September 8, 2010 LUPUS CAPITAL, the building materials supplier, raised its operating profit 43 per cent for the first half, a year after seeing off controversial tycoon Greg Hutchings. Lupus, which makes fittings for doors and windows, notched up an underlying gain of £17.3m in the six months to July. Group sales defied tougher conditions in the key [...]