The financial sector is vital to unlocking Britain’s potential for growth August 19, 2012 AFTER an incredible couple of weeks for the UK, the first leg of London 2012 has drawn to a close. It has shown the very best of Britain, with athletes from over 200 countries coming to demonstrate their excellence. Team GB excelled, just as Britain excels in business. There’s an old joke that the British [...]
The technology paradox: It will kill jobs but rescue Britain’s economy August 5, 2012 THE LATEST GDP numbers were awful. The UK economy shrank by 0.7 per cent. But rather than embarking on political blame-games, we must face a stark fact: the economy needs a clean-out. All the fiscal and monetary levers have been pulled, and they haven’t worked. A much bigger story is at play – digital technology [...]
Carpetright sales boosted by bed business July 24, 2012 Carpetright, Britain’s biggest flooring retailer, said quarterly underlying UK sales growth picked-up a touch, helped by the development of its bed business, an extended laminate range and store refurbishment. The firm said on Tuesday sales at British stores open over a year rose 1.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 21 July. That compared [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES RUSSIAN LINK IN FRAUD CLAIM A $150m fraud allegedly attempted by a former fund manager at Threadneedle Asset Management is linked to a trade in more than a billion Argentinian warrants by former staff at Otkritie, the Russian financial services group. Threadneedle confirmed on Tuesday that a former trader had been dismissed in [...]
UK house price drop worsens as London gains June 28, 2012 THE DROP in house prices in the UK accelerated in June, as weakness from the Eurozone and the expiry of the stamp duty holiday took their toll, Nationwide said yesterday. Prices were down 0.6 per cent on the month, as part of a 1.5 per cent slide since June 2011 – the biggest year-on-year fall in [...]
Bovis enjoys robust trading July 9, 2012 Homebuilder Bovis Homes yesterday reported robust trading during the first half of the year and said housing market conditions in the UK remained stable. The Kent-based group completed 944 homes in the six months to 30 June compared with 801 homes a year ago. Average sales price during the period increased one per cent to [...]
Ashmore share price down as equity shrinks July 12, 2012 SHARES in funds house Ashmore tumbled 6.7 per cent yesterday after it said it has lost about a fifth of the money it manages in equities during the last quarter. The London-based manager, which focuses on investments in emerging markets, reported a 20.5 per cent drop in equities to $6.2bn (£4bn) in the three months [...]
Why Britain must not veto banking union for Europe July 16, 2012 DAVID Cameron risks facing his own personal European groundhog day. A watershed European summit last month advanced proposals for a Eurozone banking union. Final approval is due in December. The aim is to break the fatal link between euro area banks and sovereigns. Less painful for Germany than eurobonds, but seen as credible by financial [...]
A snapshot view: The right time to say goodbye to a business July 29, 2012 ON HOLIDAY in India in 1995, I was very popular with the locals. Before flying from London, I had splashed out about £1,000 for one of the first digital cameras for the consumer market. Nowadays it would seem Stone Age. But back then it was a sensation whenever I used it. Locals jostled to get [...]
Three reasons why the UK economy will eventually improve September 11, 2012 GLASSES can be half-empty – but they can also be half-full. Amid all the gloom, and the latest useless proposals for an industrial policy from Vince Cable, the business secretary, here are, for once, three reasons for moderate optimism about the state of our post-Olympic nation. The first is that the UK has become a [...]