Should I accept a low rental offer now or wait for a high one later? September 27, 2012 Q My house has been on the rental market for over three months and I’ve just had an offer of 40 per cent less than the offer price, what should I do? A There are various reasons for making a residential investment but most centre on either looking for a good yield, or long term [...]
America’s jobs nightmare requires fresh thinking November 5, 2012 TOMORROW is decision day for Americans, who must choose who they want to see in the White House for the next four years: Barack Obama, the Democratic incumbent, or Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger. America will also be voting for a new Congress. This newspaper is not shy of giving its endorsements to candidates in [...]
US budgetary stalemate could have a negative impact on the price of gold November 6, 2012 AS A historically close US election comes to an end, the outcome may still be uncertain. But more certain is the less ambiguous outcome of a potential Mitt Romney victory – a negative impact on gold and other metals, due to his intention not to re-appoint Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke when his term expires [...]
Economist says Dow would soar on Romney win November 5, 2012 A VICTORY for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in today’s US Presidential election could cause the Dow Jones to jump by a huge 500 points, it was suggested this morning. Analysts and investors are expecting incumbent Democrat Barack Obama to retain the top seat in the White House, with such an outcome believed to be priced [...]
Conservative unity on Europe will break open deep Labour fractures January 23, 2013 DAVID Cameron’s Europe speech united the Conservative party. But it also created two enormous challenges: one for Cameron himself and one for Ed Miliband. In 2009, with the Lisbon Treaty ratified, Cameron and William Hague decided it would be absurd to have a retrospective referendum. They announced a new policy, including a sovereignty bill, a [...]
UK shares have year’s biggest one day rise on hopes of US fiscal plan November 19, 2012 UK shares matched their biggest one day rise of the year yesterday, recovering some of last week’s steep falls, as optimism that US lawmakers will forge a fiscal compromise encouraged traders to buy at the lower prices. The FTSE 100 index was up 132.07 points, or 2.4 per cent, at 5,767.66 by the close. Leading [...]
Student housing attracts £2bn worth of investment says CBRE October 24, 2012 INVESTMENT in student accommodation in the UK has soared to a record £2bn since the start of the year, despite the sector seeing a decline in student numbers following the hike in tuition fees. New research from property consultants CBRE published yesterday showed that investment into student accommodation jumped 145 per cent in the first [...]
Mark Carney’s Canadian legacy has still not weathered the test of time November 27, 2012 MARK Carney, the Bank of England’s new governor, will leave his current position as governor of the Bank of Canada with a sterling reputation. The widespread acclaim he has attracted is based on his Bank’s deft handling of the beginning of the financial crisis, and his recent appointment as head of the G20’s Financial Stability [...]
Persimmon in strong start to 2012 April 19, 2012 British housebuilder Persimmon said it had made a good start to 2012 with both visitor levels and orders up on last year, boosted in part by a new government mortgage scheme. The group, which in February cheered shareholders with a promise to return 1.9 billion pounds of surplus cash to them over the next decade, [...]
BDO and PKF in talks for audit merger deal November 7, 2012 BDO and PKF are in advanced talks to merge their UK operations, the accountancy and advisory firms revealed yesterday. A tie-up, which is expected to take place early next year, would give the group extra firepower to compete with Grant Thornton for mid-market audit and business advisory clients. The firms said the enlarged company would [...]