House prices fall furthest in 25 years September 5, 2008 Yet more doom and gloom was heaped on the housing market yesterday as retail bank Halifax announced the first double-digit drop in prices since 1983. Prices dipped a further 1.8 per cent in August following a drop of 1.7 per cent in July, marking the fifth month running that house prices have dropped by at [...]
DSG cautious after sales dip at PC World September 4, 2008 Nine months into the job, John Browett, chief executive of DSG International announced yesterday he was not foreseeing a “chance for recovery until 2010”, following a first quarter slump in the market. Like-for-like sales in the 16 weeks to 23 August fell seven per cent on the same period last year, led by 12 per [...]
Going short is not necessarily the answer September 2, 2008 A medium or long term approach may be wisest just now, says Katie Hope Its’ like a grim version of “when I were a lad…” working in the City at the moment. Everyone’s trying to out-do themselves in describing just how bad things have got. Going to school barefoot barely makes the grade in terms [...]
Bodies of millionaire and wife are found September 1, 2008 Police investigating a fire at the home of millionaire businessman Christopher Foster have announced they are now treating it as a murder inquiry, following confirmation that the two bodies found there are those of Foster, 50, and his wife. A post-mortem examination has revealed that Jillian Foster, 49, from Osbaston House in Maesbrook, Shropshire, died [...]
British business must believe that recession is immanent September 1, 2008 Finally. a clean month ahead of us. And more importantly, the Labour Day weekend is over and done with. This, theoretically, should mean that there are no more excuses as to why we are not seeing “proper” market behaviour. The summer is coming to an end – no more erratic, light-volume trading weeks, and full [...]
Latest house price fall piles on the misery September 1, 2008 House prices slumped by 0.9 per cent in August, falling for the 11th successive month and adding to the gloom currently surrounding the market. According to the latest national housing market survey from Hometrack, average prices are down by 5.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, the lowest level since the survey began in 2001. [...]
City expects interest rates will be held September 1, 2008 Interest rates are expected to remain on hold this week in spite of a slew of bad economic news that has left the UK teetering on the edge of official recession. Consensus expectations suggest that once again rising inflation will trump dwindling growth for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meaning interest rates will remain at [...]
Savills sales plunge fails to dampen mood August 29, 2008 Property group Savills was buoyant yesterday, despite a 41 per cent slump in first-half underlying pre-tax profit to £19.2m, owing to ailing commercial and residential property markets. The company saw its shares soar 17 per cent to 283.75p yesterday, as an 88 per cent fall in profits to £2.5m at its residential and commercial sales [...]
House price fall takes UK to the brink August 29, 2008 Economy on the verge of crisis as house prices fall at their sharpest rate for 18 years Fresh evidence that Britain’s economy is on the brink of crisis continues to emerge after August house prices fell at their sharpest annual rate in 18 years and retail sales slumped. House prices fell 1.9 per cent during [...]
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 [...]