What the other papers say this Morning December 3, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EDF cost rises damp nuclear hopes EDF, the French utility, said the cost of its new nuclear power station in northern France had increased by a third, raising fears that its planned UK plant may also be vulnerable to a similar budget blowout. But EDF Energy, the company’s UK subsidiary, insisted that the [...]
The UK’s credit rating will fall victim to the failure to tweak RPI January 10, 2013 WHEN asked who your favourite chancellor is, it’s fashionable to reply William Gladstone. He is the man who helped construct the Victorian liberal state, based on free trade and small government. But while Gladstone was certainly brilliant, my own choice is Neville Chamberlain, who successfully steered Britain out of the 1930s Depression. It was a [...]
Tax onslaught from Labour and Brussels will destroy jobs February 14, 2013 IF it moves, tax it; if it doesn’t, subsidise it; and above all make sure the tax system is as complicated as possible. That, and a nasty dose of class war and anti-finance prejudice, has become the new modus operandi for many in Britain and Europe. As a result, yesterday was one of the worst [...]
Markets fly but hangover feared January 2, 2013 MARKETS around the world rallied yesterday after the US agreed an eleventh-hour deal to limit fiscal cliff tax increases and spending cuts, giving equities a much needed boost. The deal averted sharp rises in income-tax for a majority of Americans, but failed to reach any conclusion over cutting the budget deficit, leading analysts to warn the [...]
House prices rise in October November 1, 2012 UK house prices rose 0.6 per cent in October, lender Nationwide said this morning, although values are still 0.9 per cent lower year on year. The lender puts the price of a typical home at £164,153, a slight uptick from last month. Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said this morning that the annual pace [...]
The optimists come out to play for the first day of 2013 January 2, 2013 For those hardy souls returning to work yesterday after the Christmas break the financial markets provided some welcome and slightly unexpected cheer. Talks in the US aimed at averting a stalemate on the so-called fiscal cliff succeeded (just) and a bill that many Republicans dislike because it contains too few spending cuts passed through the [...]
Homebuilders welcome rise of green shoots November 12, 2012 HOUSEBUILDERS Taylor Wimpey and Bovis Homes yesterday said they had continued to make steady progress since the first half of the year as their focus on margins paid off. In a third quarter update, Taylor Wimpey said housing market conditions remained stable and while mortgage lending was still constrained, it had seen “incremental improvement” since [...]
Knight Frank says house prices may not return to peak till 2019 November 6, 2012 THE DOWNWARD correction to house prices gathered pace in October, according to data out yesterday, while one estate agent today predicted prices would not reach their pre-recession peak until 2019. The UK’s average house price slid 0.7 per cent into October, according to the Halifax house price index, meaning prices are some 1.7 per cent [...]
US and Canada buoy Wolseley quarterly sales December 4, 2012 A GRADUAL recovery in the US housing market and continued growth in Canada has helped plumbing and builders merchant Wolseley offset revenue declines in Europe. The company, which generates more than half its sales in the US, said trading profit rose to £198m in the quarter to 31 October compared with £185m in the period [...]
CWC enters new age with $750m Macau sell-off January 13, 2013 THE BOSS of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) hailed a “landmark day” for his company yesterday as the telecoms firm said it had sold its last asset in Asia. CWC said it had reached a deal with the Chinese state-owned operator Citic to sell its 51 per cent stake in CTM, its business in Macau, [...]