Crosby review fails to please industry July 30, 2008 Property industry experts yesterday sharply criticised the government commissioned Crosby report on the crippled state of the mortgage market for failing to take immediate action to relieve the problem. In his interim report, published yesterday afternoon, Sir James Crosby, the former boss of HBOS, said the mortgage markets would remain jammed another three years, possibly [...]
Slowing sales of broadband August 1, 2008 Growth in sales of broadband connections, which surged in recent years, has peaked and is now slowing rapidly, according to figures released by the UK’s leading broadband providers. Carphone Warehouse yesterday said it had missed its fixed line revenue growth targets, adding just 41,000 broadband customers in its first quarter, compared to earlier forecasts of [...]
Cash and bonds will help protect your investments from stagflation August 29, 2008 It’s time to re-balance your portfolio to cushion the blow of the bear market, says Bill Jamieson Investors have arrived at a critical inflection point on portfolio planning. Many believe that key sectors of the equity market such as banks and house builders are now undervalued, yet they choose to remain markedly underweight in these [...]
Brain-drain? It’s nothing but a blip September 10, 2008 Lots of City workers are heading for Dubai at the moment, but don’t worry: London will lure them back soon, says Max Orbach We all know somebody who has re-located to Dubai, Singapore or even Moscow in the last few months, as the British economy has wobbled, house-prices have fallen and inflation has risen. While [...]
IMF cuts growth forecasts August 7, 2008 The International Monetary Fund yesterday cut its forecasts for the next two years and warned it wouldn’t “take much of a shock” for growth to become negative. It now predicts that the economy will grow by 1.4 per cent in 2008 and 1.1 per cent in 2009 – well below the 1.75 per cent it [...]
The shape of things to come August 14, 2008 Government rules on green homes mean that eco-houses are coming. It’s time to get used to the idea, says Alex Delmar-Morgan Nobody denies that if the world heats up, we will have to change the way we live, build and get around. As recently as five years ago, phrases like “global warming” and “carbon emissions” [...]
Wolseley to slash more jobs July 14, 2008 Wolseley, the heating and plumbing supplier, plans to cut hundreds of jobs due to the downturn in its core American and European markets. The move is yet further evidence of the looming recession facing the UK economy in general and housing related industries in particular. The firm, which employs around 14,000 people in Britain, already [...]
Housing recession creeping closer as Barratt cuts jobs July 11, 2008 Leading economists predicted yesterday that house prices will fall by 35 per cent by the end of next year, as lender Halifax reported a 2 per cent slump in values last month. Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said that house prices are already 6.1 per cent lower than last June, fuelling fears Britain is heading for [...]
HBOS set to report big fall in profits July 28, 2008 Troubled mortgage giant HBOS will announce interim results this week, with profits expected to have fallen more than 50 per cent year-on-year, as investors call for asset sales to offset heavy write-downs. Analysts are forecasting a slump in profits to £1.3bn, due in part to losses related to the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and stuttering [...]
Banking tragedy fails to lift market players August 4, 2008 You could say the UK banks reporting season is turning into a comedy of errors but perhaps a Shakespearean tragedy would be more apt. It was an awful first act for the sector last week but the drama will reach its crescendo this week as we await downbeat numbers from HSBC, Barclays and RBS. The [...]