WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 30, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES CARLYLE SUED OVER COLLAPSED FUNDA prominent Kuwaiti conglomerate is suing the Carlyle Group in a local court, alleging that the US private equity firm misrepresented the safety of its affiliate, Carlyle Capital Corp (CCC), a public debt fund that collapsed in 2008. The firm, National?Industries Group, invested $50m in CCC, which was marketed [...]
Get into the foreign property game at a fraction of the cost February 11, 2010 FOR many people, owning a foreign property would be the ultimate luxury. However, dealing with local authorities, maintaining the place, or renting it out can turn a luxury into a time-consuming, costly hassle. And that assumes you can really afford the place of your dreams, rather than a flat in a high-rise overlooking a crowded [...]
City types head out for a slippery slurp November 26, 2009 IT WAS off to Mansion House for many in the City yesterday for the annual Guinness and Oyster Lunch, which has been a tradition in the Square Mile for nigh on half a century. New Lord Mayor Nick Anstee kicked off the proceedings with a rousing speech, swiftly followed by the face of Guinness maker [...]
Federal Reserve’s Beige Book reports small improvements October 21, 2009 US economic conditions stabilised or improved modestly in most parts of the country, according to a Federal Reserve report yesterday that suggested the economy was slowly clawing out of a recession. In its “Beige Book” of anecdotal reports on the economy, which was based on information collected before 13 October, the central bank noted improvement [...]
Redrow reports 47 per cent jump in home reservations as stability returns November 4, 2009 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow yesterday reported a 47 per cent surge in home reservations on the year before and said home sales have been “remarkably stable”. The group yesterday said that for the first 18 weeks of the financial year, net private reservations have averaged 45 per week – a return to “historic norms” after the devastating [...]
Axa looks to offload its stake in Chinese Taikang Life arm October 22, 2009 FRENCH insurer AXA has started the ball rolling on a Chinese asset sale that could raise as much as $1bn (£604m). Axa will sell the 15.6 per cent Taikang Life Insurance Company stake it took on when it bought Swiss group Winterthur in 2006. The group has enlisted US investment bank Morgan Stanley to advise [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE WORST NOW OVER FOR THE BRITISH HOUSING MARKET? May 21, 2009 DAVID THOMSON CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE“Small shifts in mortgage and house price data is just a blip. The housing market won’t return in terms of volume for several months. Consumers need to feel that there’s an upturn, and buyers need to know they can return to the market with confidence.” GRAHAM RIVERS WIN PLC“Easter always brings an [...]
Think inside the Square: why the City is a top spot to buy a home November 26, 2009 IF YOU’RE looking for the ultimate Tube-busting pied a terre, the Square Mile can’t be bettered for history, beauty and – of course – convenience. Other financial centres are not exactly places you’d want to live: tightly packed with skyscrapers and fumes, they have a sterile, uninhabitable feel (just think of mid-town New York or [...]
Commodities and banking stocks lead Santa Claus rally December 21, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index closed sharply higher in thin pre-Christmas trading yesterday, buoyed by commodity stocks on firmer metals and crude prices and a rally in banking equities. The FTSE 100 index ended up 97.18 points, or 1.9 per cent, at 5,293.99, posting its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1 December, with trading volumes just [...]
House prices see surprise jump in May June 4, 2009 HOUSE prices unexpectedly rose by 2.6 per cent in May at their fastest monthly rate since October 2002, according to Halifax’s house price survey released yesterday, although economists warned that house prices still had some way to go before bottoming out. Last month’s rise soundly beat analysts’ expectations of a fall of one per cent [...]