Carpetright lifts British sales yet trading in Europe disappoints January 29, 2013 CARPETRIGHT posted better than expected third quarter sales in its home market after “self-help” measures such as store revamps and new product ranges helped to boost trading. The flooring specialist retailer, said UK like-for-like sales were up 3.2 per cent in the 13 weeks to 26 January, compared with a 0.6 per cent rise in [...]
FTSE 250 Results Round-up – 27/02 February 27, 2013 Barratt Developments, the residential property development company, released results for the six months to December (results) with profits increased by 113.4 per cent to £46.1m. Chief executive Mark Clare said that: Although we remain cautious as to whether the thaw in lending conditions will be sustained, improvements in mortgage lending and the success of the [...]
Osborne’s gambled on the wrong policy March 23, 2013 THERE is a striking paradox at the heart of George Osborne’s approach to the economy, as demonstrated yet again in yesterday’s Budget. He was remarkably risk-averse with his tax and spend policies, refusing to embrace the kinds of shock and awe tax reforms many of us wanted, or to cut spending faster, though he did [...]
November saw accelerating house prices January 15, 2013 THE HOUSING market heated up in November, according to the most comprehensive official data, released yesterday. The Office for National Statistics’ house price index climbed 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to November 2012, up from the 1.5 per cent growth recorded in the year to October. This overall acceleration was driven by soaring London prices, [...]
Taylor Wimpey hails pick-up in house buying January 14, 2013 TAYLOR Wimpey said yesterday it expects profits for the year to be at the top end of expectations as consumer sentiment in the housing market shows signs of improvement. The housebuilder said it expected to report that group operating profit rose by over 40 per cent in 2012 when it reports its annual results in [...]
Buy to let loans grow to 12pc of market in 2012 February 14, 2013 THE BUY-TO-LET market enjoyed rapid expansion in 2012, ballooning back up towards its pre-recession peak, according to figures out yesterday. Buy-to let lending exploded 19 per cent between 2011 and last year, from £13.8bn to £16.4bn, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. This boom saw it taking up 11.5 per cent of total gross [...]
LSE tries to turn tide on exodus of tech startups February 13, 2013 THE LONDON Stock Exchange is trying to tempt fast-growing tech firms away from Silicon Valley by launching a “high growth segment” with less onerous listing rules. The exchange said yesterday that companies with an annual growth rate of 20 per cent over three years will from next month be able to join the segment of [...]
Market braced for bad news in Inflation Report February 10, 2013 ECONOMISTS have warned that markets should be braced for bad news this week as the Bank of England releases its quarterly update on the UK’s financial outlook. “The upcoming Inflation Report is likely to project that inflation will still be clearly above the two per cent target two years ahead, and perhaps not even back [...]
Desperate Osborne risks fuelling another housing bubble January 22, 2013 It is starting to look as if George Osborne is going to blow another housing bubble, albeit this time of a more modest variety. His Funding for Lending Scheme is starting to have an effect; but instead of making it easier and cheaper for small firms to borrow money, the subsidy’s supposed intention, the scheme [...]
Capital defies gloomy outlook on house prices January 3, 2013 HOUSE PRICES sunk back into decline in the final month of 2012, capping off a gloomy year, according to data out yesterday. Prices edged down 0.1 per cent on average across the country in December, Nationwide said, contributing to an overall decline of one per cent over the year. This yearly fall came despite four individual monthly [...]