WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 21, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESCORUS CHIEF SCRAMBLES TO RESCUE FACTORY DEALCorus chief Kirby Adamsm who took over at the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker last month, faces both the worst fall in steel demand for 60 years and a battle to salvage an agreement to sell the group’s Teesside plant to Marcegaglia. It has emerged that Marcegaglia is having second thoughts [...]
Bang for your buck: what the world’s best business hotels offer June 7, 2009 BUSINESS hotels often promise the world, but they often disappoint. Small things like a slow internet connection, a restaurant that closes early or trouble getting hold of an iron can play havoc with your plans. To work, they have to get so many things right. Let’s face it, you’re only going to remember the one [...]
Redrow cuts payout hit by housing slump September 10, 2008 Evidence of the housing market downturn became even more explicit yesterday as housebuilder Redrow announced a halving of profits and a new £450m debt facility to 2011. Shareholders are also losing out on a third dividend, due to an “unprecedented decline in the fortunes of the UK housing market in a very short period of [...]
Mortgage squeeze causes profits to plunge at Bovis August 27, 2008 Housebuilder Bovis yesterday blamed the mortgage squeeze for an 83 per cent slump in first half profit and said it was “the toughest period of trading it has experienced in its life as a public company”. Pre-tax profits fell to £9.5m, from £58.4m in the first six months of 2007, prompting the housebuilder to take [...]
Barratt close to securing debt deal July 10, 2008 Housebuilder Barratt Developments is today expected to reveal it has managed to renegotiate a refinancing package with its bankers. Barratt, which has £1.7bn debt and a market capitalisation of just £140m, has been negotiating with lenders to extend repayment of £400m debt due in April , as well as agree changes to its debt covenants [...]
Emergency share issue on the cards for Taylor Wimpey July 1, 2008 Confirmation from the UK’s largest housebuilder, Taylor Wimpey, that it is seeking to shore up its balance sheet will start a wave of refinancing across the sector, analysts warned yesterday. The housing company said it expects to write down the value of its land bank by around £660m, and revealed it was in talks with [...]
US mortgage agencies are nationalised September 8, 2008 The US government took control of twin mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac yesterday as it unveiled a series of measures designed to rescue the beleaguered US housing market. Treasury secretary Henry Paulson said the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) would place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under “conservatorship” to prevent the collapse of [...]
Bet on inflation to beat the downturn August 26, 2008 The market climate has created just the right conditions to make a mint, says Katie Hope It’s pretty grim out there at the moment. Food and fuel prices are rising at the fastest rate on record, contributing to soaring inflation. Even Bank of England governor Mervyn King, who is charged with keeping inflation at around [...]
Recession for UK this year warns OECD September 3, 2008 Britain is nearer recession than both the US and Europe, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned yesterday as it slashed its UK growth forecast. The grim warning from the Paris based agency is the first time one of the world’s main public forecasters, has predicted a UK recession. The OECD forecast third [...]
Why it may be time to reduce investment exposure to UK September 3, 2008 Two trends have dominated financial markets in recent months: global growth has continued to weaken, while inflationary pressure has eased. The main cloud on the horizon now is the renewed upward spike in US mortgage spreads; this prevents the average American house-buyer from benefiting from looser monetary policy and lower bond yields. More positively, energy [...]