House prices tumble 0.6pc in June to mark third consecutive fall, says Halifax July 8, 2010 HOUSE prices in the UK unexpectedly fell by 0.6 per cent in June for the third month in a row, trimming the annual rise in property prices to 8.7 per cent last month. The Halifax data comes just days after rival mortgage provider Nationwide reported that the rise in house prices slowed to just 0.1 [...]
Sovereign debt fears drag business confidence down July 8, 2010 ONGOING fears about the impact of the sovereign debt crisis dragged businesses confidence down in June, according to the latest Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Business Barometer. The survey – a snapshot of businesses’ views on their own performance and wider economic prospects – shows that firms are far less optimistic about the economic outlook than [...]
Threadneedle Street keeps monetary policy unchanged again this month July 8, 2010 THE Bank of England this month held interest rates, keeping monetary policy ultra-loose. Interest rates remained at their historic low of 0.5 per cent and the stock of asset purchases was held at £200bn. Economists had expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to hold fire this month and said it would have been an enormous [...]
Connaught to lose CEO and finance chief July 8, 2010 THE CHIEF executive and financial director of Connaught resigned yesterday, in another blow to the troubled social housing group. Mark Tincknell, who has been chief executive for six months, stood down immediately to recover from health issues, but will remain with the company. Tincknell will assist chairman Sir Roy Gardner to find a successor, and [...]
Carlyle buys up £671m of White Tower buildings July 8, 2010 AMERICAN private equity group Carlyle has snapped up six central London properties for a total of £671m, its first major purchase since 2008. The properties were part of a portfolio owned by entrepreneur Simon Halabi, which was used to secure the failed White Tower commercial mortgage-backed securities vehicle. Carlyle said yesterday the properties generate around [...]
GOLDMAN CASE STRIKES FEAR INTO HEARTS OF PRUDENT COMPETITORS July 8, 2010 THE SEC’S fraud case against Goldman might have proved an almighty headache for the bank’s own staff, but at least it’s spawned a valuable lesson for rivals. Citi took the opportunity to send employees a missive in the wake of the accusations, imperiously titled “Think Before You Write: Avoiding Improper Electronic Communication”. The 11-page illustrated [...]
AB Foods sees a sales surge July 8, 2010 PRIMARK owner Associated British Foods gave an upbeat update yesterday saying its third quarter sales jumped 13 per cent and that it expected very strong growth in annual earnings, driven by its fashion discount retailer. Its 198-strong Primark chain reported sales in its spring quarter rose 15 per cent, outperforming many of its rivals and [...]
Wiseman boosted by loyalty July 8, 2010 ROBERT Wiseman Dairies yesterday said first-quarter sales volumes rose 11.6 per cent over the last year –? fuelled by growth in business from existing customers. Alan Wiseman, who retired yesterday, said: “Given our volume gains in the previous year were concentrated in June 2009, we would anticipate reporting lower like-for-like growth in volumes in subsequent [...]
Tiso group goes back in the black with IT move July 8, 2010 OUTDOOR equipment specialist Tiso Group has reported an increase in profit driven by a new IT system which improved its supply chain. The Scottish retailer – which also includes the Alpine Bikes and George Fisher brands – saw turnover fall slightly to £27m for the year to 31 January. However a pre-tax loss of £100,000 [...]
JJB Sports on the up despite England July 8, 2010 SALES at JJB Sports have soared in recent weeks, despite England’s early exit from the World Cup. Like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new store openings, rose 22.3 per cent for the six weeks to 4 July compared with a year ago. JJB, which sells England replica kits, said that profit margins over [...]