Act now to snap up remaining French bargains May 27, 2010 AFTER a weekend of Mediterranean weather evaporated this week, sun-hungry holidaymakers could be forgiven for looking to France. And with sellers dusting down wine cellars for the high season, there is no better time to fly south for villa-viewing. The Lehman collapse saw demand take flight even from prime locations, but top-end buyers returned during [...]
Act now to snap up remaining French bargains May 27, 2010 AFTER a weekend of Mediterranean weather evaporated this week, sun-hungry holidaymakers could be forgiven for looking to France. And with sellers dusting down wine cellars for the high season, there is no better time to fly south for villa-viewing. The Lehman collapse saw demand take flight even from prime locations, but top-end buyers returned during [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK HOUSE PRICES ARE SET TO RISE OR FALL? November 18, 2009 STEPHEN FERRARI FERRARI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT“I think the housing prices will increase because there is a short supply of nice houses on the market. Although I don’t think it’s going to be easy to borrow money, until the supply meets the demand for houses, I think we’ll see a rise in prices. There may be apparent [...]
Hiking capital gains will just hit aspiration June 13, 2010 CITY A.M. CAMPAIGN LIKE many MPs, I have received an avalanche of letters and emails from angry and perplexed constituents since the rise in capital gains tax was floated. These do not come from the ranks of the super wealthy or short-term City speculators. Instead, my anxious correspondents are predominantly people who have “done the [...]
Fitch: Ratings risk posed by Solvency II June 2, 2010 EUROPEAN insurers may struggle to keep their credit ratings under stringent new capital requirements proposed by Brussels, assessment house Fitch warned yesterday. Insurance companies are expected to be ordered to increase the amount of capital they hold against their liabilities under Solvency II, the European Commission’s regulatory regime due to be introduced in 2012. In [...]
Redrow on way to profit April 26, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2010 as market conditions continue to improve. The FTSE 250 group says it has been “encouraged” by sales activity since the start of the calendar year. It is likely to legally complete more than 2,500 homes this year with sales rates per outlet [...]
City firms see woes pile up since January May 9, 2010 WHOEVER takes the keys to Number 11 Downing Street will inherit an increasingly troubled financial sector, according to the first monthly City A.M/Begbies Traynor health monitor for the Square Mile. Despite the pick-up in equity markets and bank profits, our figures show the number of City financial firms experiencing severe stress has shot up by [...]
BUYING April 29, 2010 Camilla Dell MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q.Dear Camilla, what is the UK market likely to do after the election and what advice would you give to buyers? A.A hung parliament is bound to weaken sterling further, which could spell price rises for the London property market, where approximately 60 per cent of transactions over [...]
House prices fall as lending levels pick up April 13, 2010 HOUSE price rises in the UK have started to slow, while mortgage lending continues to rise. According to data published yesterday by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), house prices only rose by 2.9 per cent during the quarter ending February 2010, a fall compared with the previous quarter when prices rose by [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FERROUS STEELS ITSELF FOR LONDON FLOAT Ferrous Resources, the Brazilian iron ore miner, confirmed its intention to list in London next month, adding momentum to a new round of mining and energy flotations in the capital of resources finance. With an expected valuation of about $4bn (£2.8bn), Ferrous could be the biggest “pure-play” [...]