Double dose of corporate woe leaves City investors reeling July 3, 2008 The city was left reeling yesterday after retail giant Marks & Spencer issued a shock profits warning and Britain’s largest housebuilder Taylor Wimpey admitted it had been unable to secure £500m in funding. The bleak news from M&S, an industry bellwether, that the consumer downturn was likely to be “longer and harder fought” than previously [...]
Buying off-plan means that you have control over your investment July 3, 2008 You can land a bargain if you are prepared to do your research, writes Timothy Barber Buying a property can be pretty much the most stressful process you can put yourself through. You can multiply that by ten when it comes to buying abroad. Whether looking for a holiday home or a simple investment, a [...]
Why running a spreadbetting giant is just the ticket for this maths buff August 7, 2008 The boss of IG tells Katie Hope how volatile financial markets are boosting his industry Question: what do mathematicians and spread-betters have in common? Answer: quite a lot, it turns out, as exemplified by the man at the very top of the UK’s largest spread betting and contracts for difference firm IG Index. Tim Howkins, [...]
Fears mount for Bradford & Bingley as shares flop July 8, 2008 Bradford & Bingley’s stock plunged to an all-time low of 42p yesterday – well below its rights issue price of 55p – as concerns over the troubled lender’s future intensified. Fears also increased that the lender would issue another profit warning, due to the deepening crisis in the housing market, when it releases the prospectus [...]
Develop your tactics to win in hard times July 15, 2008 When the going gets tough, the tough stick to their trading strategies, says Katie Hope Everybody harbours a secret desire to be an investment legend. The so-called “Sage of Omaha” Warren Buffett, George Soros, whom it is obligatory to refer to as “the man who broke the Bank of England” and even fictional red-braced trader [...]
B&B drama caps another day of troubles for UK Plc July 4, 2008 A day of gloom for the global economy was capped late last night by the revelation that private equity group TPG had walked away from its rescue of Bradford & Bingley. The dramatic development, which will see the bank rescued instead by City institutions, came as Moody’s downgraded B&B’s credit for the second time. The [...]
Lose customers’ details and you lose something else too – their trust August 27, 2008 As technology infiltrates all parts of business, it pays to be aware of the weak spots, writes David Crow Barely a week goes by without yet another loss of personal data by someone who should be trusted. Yesterday, it was the bank details of over a million Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest and American Express [...]
Pips and pairs: forex trading comes to a screen near you July 23, 2008 Phil Thornton takes a look at some of the new retail forex platforms out there Just a decade ago, the closest that even the savviest investors came to foreign exchange trading was deciding when and where to buy foreign currency for their summer holiday. Thanks to financial liberalisation and massive advances in technology, private investors [...]
Bank warns of hard times October 26, 2005 Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned that the British economy is about to embark on a bumpy ride over the coming years after the stability enjoyed in recent times. At a hearing in front of a House of Lords parliamentary committee, King said people should not expect the Bank to “fine tune the [...]
The house scouts who do all the leg work October 27, 2005 Buy-to-let investors don’t always have the time and the knowledge to find the perfect property. It is still possible to make a living out of buy to-let — by setting up a business that helps others find and run the right investments. Buy-to-let support staff are multiplying fast in a property market which seems unable [...]