DTZ on target as hopes of a recovery rise March 15, 2010 PROPERTY broker DTZ Holdings yesterday said it remains on target to meet market expectations for its full year results, anticipating £70m of cost savings for the period. Boosting hopes of recovery in the sector, DTZ reported better levels of activity in its key markets of London and Paris and increased activity in the investment and [...]
Restaurant and pub sales bounce back March 15, 2010 Top pub and restaurant groups have seen like-for-like sales bounce back, following a dismal January. The 15 major companies participating in the The Coffer Peach Business Tracker, which include Costa Coffee group Whitbread, collectively saw like-for-like sales up 1.3 per cent against the same month last year. Total sales were ahead 3.0 per cent on [...]
A recovery this year doesn’t mean that the worst is over March 15, 2010 SLOWLY but surely, activity is creeping back to the moribund commercial property sector. British Land and Songbird have signed tenants at their landmark developments Drapers Gardens and the Ropemaker, while it’s only a matter of time before Minerva finds an occupant for the now-complete Walbrook. That’s good news for adviser DTZ, which advised on Macquarie’s [...]
New curbs on credit cards March 15, 2010 New rights secured for credit card users could save consumers almost £300m a year, it was yesterday claimed. The agreement between the government and the credit and store card companies is part of a package of measures to tackle debt. The industry will introduce the new changes this year. “These new rights will put an [...]
London house prices too high for first-timers March 15, 2010 LONDON continues to lead the fragile national housing market recovery with asking prices in the capital rising 0.3 per cent in March to stand at 8.7 per cent higher than they were a year ago. According to the house prices and affordability index from FindaProperty.com, the average London property is now on the market at [...]
Recession teaching kids to save March 15, 2010 Young children have been hard hit by the recession but have learned the importance of saving, new research from YouGov commissioned by HSBC and the Personal Finance Education Group. The report found 43 per cent of those children interviewed had heard adults say they cannot buy something because of the recession more than once a [...]
Stall in US production as Fed meets on rates March 15, 2010 US industrial production braked sharply in February, held back by severe winter storms that slammed parts of the country, while manufacturing activity in New York state stalled this month, figures showed yesterday. Analysts said the data did not alter their views that the factory-led economic recovery remained on track, given weather disruptions and the fact [...]
Risk of another GDP decline, warns the MPC’s Kate Barker March 15, 2010 Britain’s economy may contract again for one quarter, but is unlikely to return to recession, according to Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker. Barker said the harsh winter weather hit retail sales at the start of this year but that February’s business surveys had painted a more upbeat picture of the economy, in an interview [...]
Fizzy drinks ousted by mineral water in ONS inflation gauge March 15, 2010 Canned fizzy drinks are out and small bottles of mineral water are in, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in its latest annual rejig of the “shopping basket” of goods it uses to calculate inflation. The ONS has also ditched pitta bread in favour of garlic bread and included cereal bars in the [...]
Airlines hit by record slump in passengers March 15, 2010 AIRLINES saw the biggest drop in passenger numbers since World War Two last year, as the global recession wreaked havoc on the fortunes of the industry. According to figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), 218m passengers passed through UK airports in 2009 – plunging 7.3 per cent on volumes recorded in 2008. The [...]