London bucks retailer gloom July 21, 2008 Central London retailers are defying the economic gloom, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium. Retail sales in June were 8.7 per cent higher than a year ago, although the rate of growth is weaker than in 2007 when an increase of 11 per cent was reported. Footfall was also higher than in June [...]
It is still not the time to be buying into retail stocks July 31, 2008 The European General Retail sector has fallen by about 25 per cent so far this year. But does this sharp decline in price make retail shares a good buy? We think that there are a variety of reasons to remain wary. The first reason is a depressed outlook for consumer demand. With continued worries about [...]
Barratt close to securing debt deal July 10, 2008 Housebuilder Barratt Developments is today expected to reveal it has managed to renegotiate a refinancing package with its bankers. Barratt, which has £1.7bn debt and a market capitalisation of just £140m, has been negotiating with lenders to extend repayment of £400m debt due in April , as well as agree changes to its debt covenants [...]
Housing recession creeping closer as Barratt cuts jobs July 11, 2008 Leading economists predicted yesterday that house prices will fall by 35 per cent by the end of next year, as lender Halifax reported a 2 per cent slump in values last month. Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said that house prices are already 6.1 per cent lower than last June, fuelling fears Britain is heading for [...]
Fed bail-out move halts market slide July 9, 2008 Ben Bernanke says Fed may continue emergency lending scheme into next year Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s announcement last night that he is considering extending its emergency cash lending system for investment banks into next year rescued plunging markets in London and the US. But economists warned that the move signalled that the fall out [...]
Savills sales drop 45 per cent in a year July 9, 2008 Shares in property giant Savills dived more than 10 per cent yesterday after the firm said sales in its residential business were 45 per cent down year on year. Piling misery on the battered housing market, Savills warned that the cost of prime property in London (homes priced between £1m and £5m) fell by 7.5 [...]
London nears fresh fall into bear territory July 7, 2008 The City is bracing itself for possible entry into bear market territory this week, after the FTSE fell 41.7 points to 5434.9 by midday on Friday, and saw the psychologically-important 5,400 level broken in the final hour. With the words “negative”, “topsy-turvy”, and “recession” dominating reports on the market at the end of last week, [...]
Satellite firm gets bid from hedge fund July 8, 2008 Shares in satellite communications company Inmarsat rose as much as 13 per cent after confirming it had received an approach from its largest shareholder, US hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners. However, it’s unlikely to be a quick sale. Regulatory approval would most likely be needed from both European and American authorities before a firm offer [...]
Advertising revenues dip at Daily Mail July 24, 2008 Newspaper publisher Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) yesterday warned of a sharp fall in advertising revenues in the third quarter, with property and recruitment sectors performing particularly badly. But the Daily Mail and Evening Standard owner also said that overall performance had been good, with revenue growing by 5 per cent due to strong [...]
Double dose of corporate woe leaves City investors reeling July 3, 2008 The city was left reeling yesterday after retail giant Marks & Spencer issued a shock profits warning and Britain’s largest housebuilder Taylor Wimpey admitted it had been unable to secure £500m in funding. The bleak news from M&S, an industry bellwether, that the consumer downturn was likely to be “longer and harder fought” than previously [...]