Three reasons why the UK economy will eventually improve September 10, 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 [...]
Three reasons why the UK economy will eventually improve September 10, 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 [...]
Permira plans £400m Birds Eye refinancing July 8, 2012 Private equity house Permira is considering a refinancing of frozen food firm Birds Eye, which would land the firm a €500m (£397m) windfall. Under the terms of the refinancing, the level of Birds Eye’s debt would expand to almost €2bn from €1.4bn. Permira, which bought the UK-based frozen food producer from Unilever for €1.6bn in [...]
Consumers hit by housing market woes July 19, 2012 MORTGAGE lending dived in June, while private rents climbed for the third month in a row, according to data released yesterday by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and today by LSL property services. Gross mortgage lending was down five per cent at £11.9bn, compared to £12.5bn in May and £12.6bn in June last year, [...]
MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR August 6, 2012 A SUCCESSFUL campaign has the power to become one with the company it advertises, to end up as iconic as the brand it represents. The final shortlist for City A.M.’s marketing campaign of the year award attempts to portray a snapshot of advertising in the last year, showcasing a range of themes, designs, products and [...]
Persimmon buoyed by bullish outlook January 9, 2012 SHARES in house builder Persimmon rose 2.8 per cent yesterday after it said it expects its underlying full-year pre-tax profit to rise by half, helped by higher sales margins, and said it was confident of further growth in 2012 as first time buyer interest improves. The largest UK housebuilder by market value said yesterday that [...]
London leads July drop-off in house prices July 15, 2012 House prices dived in July, after a double hit from bad weather and sporting distractions, according to Rightmove’s July House Price Index released today. The average property asking price was £242,097 in July, 1.7 per cent lower than the £246,235 recorded in June. However this average was still 2.3 per cent up on the year, [...]
Top tips for investment first-timers September 2, 2012 IF YOU’RE lucky enough to find that you’ve got money left at the end of each month, the investment decisions you make now could make a big difference to the quality of the rest of your life. However, deciding how you invest isn’t easy. At a time of stock market volatility, negative real returns from [...]
What Team GB really needs is international investors July 30, 2012 AFTER years of cynicism, Londoners appear to have finally taken the Olympics to their hearts. Yet there is an uncomfortable air of the Roman “panem et circenses” – keeping the common people happy with bread and games – about the spectacle. At a time when GDP figures suggest there’s less bread to go round than [...]
The subprime mortgage crisis isn’t over – UK taxpayers remain liable June 7, 2012 THE subprime mortgage crisis isn’t over. On the back of misguided government policies, taxpayers in the US and UK remain on the hook for huge sums. The ideology of affordable housing must end. It took just 13 years to destroy the American mortgage market with devastating effects for the rest of the world. The process began [...]