Greece passes key debt test but still nervy August 5, 2010 International inspectors yesterday applauded Greece’s efforts to exit its debt crisis, endorsing a fresh €9bn (£7.4bn) payment from an EU/IMF bailout scheme, but urged reforms in energy, banking and the public sector. In their most positive assessment so far that offered an antidote to market scepticism, IMF, ECB and European Commission officials said Athens would [...]
BoE holds both rates and QE August 5, 2010 MONETARY policy remained frozen yesterday at ultra-loose levels as the Bank of England chose to keep interest rates at their current historic low of 0.5 per cent and maintained its target to boost the money supply at £200bn. Despite strong economic growth in the second quarter and inflation well above the two per cent target, [...]
ECB says it is too early to declare victory over crisis August 5, 2010 IT IS still too early to declare victory over the financial crisis despite data pointing to a stronger recovery in the Eurozone, the European Central Bank (ECB) said yesterday. The ECB chose to hold rates at a record low of one per cent, as expected, and said it would only decide next month whether to [...]
London & Stamford stock to move to main market August 5, 2010 AIM-LISTED property investor London & Stamford is seeking shareholder approval for a switch to London’s senior stock market as part of a plan to adopt tax-efficient REIT status. The Guernsey-based company, set up by veteran real estate entrepreneurs Raymond Mould, Patrick Vaughan and Humphrey Price, was formed in October 2007 to snare discounted properties after [...]
Bellway claims housing market is back to normal and forecasts 10pc growth August 5, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway said yesterday it remains on track to increase production by 10 per cent this year, while reassuring investors that the housing market has returned to more normal conditions. The FTSE 250-listed company said it completed the sale of 4,595 homes in the year to 31 July, a rise of five per cent on [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 5, 2010 LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Lloyds Banking Group has delivered strong half-year results, according to Citigroup, which gives the bank a “buy” recommendation. Citi said that Lloyds is well ahead on strong margin expansion and believes that the full year consensus for the bank’s combined businesses before tax profit is likely to settle in a range of [...]
Unilever profit rises but fails to impress August 5, 2010 CONSUMER goods giant Unilever warned of rising pressure from rivals and higher commodity costs yesterday as it missed analysts’ forecasts with a 3.6 per cent rise in second-quarter sales despite strong emerging market growth. Unilever’s caution reflects the message from competitors like Procter & Gamble who have to spend heavily on new products to attract [...]
Ladbrokes hit by a betting downturn despite World Cup August 5, 2010 LADBROKES yesterday said the amount staked by punters at its UK shops fell seven per cent even taking into account a boost from the World Cup. However, the bookmaker said it would resume dividend payments. Revenues from over-the-counter betting fell six per cent in the six months to the end of June but a better [...]
Millennium & Copthorne warns over fragile state of the global economy August 5, 2010 MILLENNIUM & Copthorne (M&C) yesterday posted a 65 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profit but said it was cautious about the economy over the next 18 months. The London-based hotel chain, which runs more than 120 hotels in 19 countries, declared an interim dividend of 2.08p, unchanged from last year. “We will continue to [...]
F&C closes in on its Thames River acquisition August 5, 2010 EVEN by the standards of F&C Asset Management’s long and winding history, the past year has been eventful. The funds house, founded 140 years ago to manage the world’s first mass-market investment trust, made a long-awaited break for independence just over 12 months ago when it de-merged from life insurer Friends Provident. Analysts and employees [...]