Emerson slips into the red November 29, 2009 EMERSON Group, one of the largest private housebuilders in the UK, halved the number of homes it built in the year to April due to depressed demand from first-time buyers. The company said it decided not to follow other industry players in offering discounts of up to 30 per cent on new properties, instead completing [...]
Consumer confidence wanes as economic worries remain November 29, 2009 CONSUMER confidence dipped slightly in November – the first time in over a year that the index has fallen – after recording the highest level of consumer confidence in a year and a half only last month, GfK NOP will today report. Four out of five measures of consumer confidence experienced a marked downturn: confidence [...]
John Lewis experiences week of record sales as Christmas looms November 29, 2009 SALES are soaring at John Lewis, according to sales figures released by the department store this weekend. Figures released for the week ending 28 November show increases in electrical and home technology sales. Sales for the week reached a total of £91.79m reached, 22 per cent more than the same time last year. Televisions, coffee [...]
COUTURE CRISIS November 29, 2009 The outlook for fashion house Christian Lacroix looked bleak yesterday as potential buyers failed to submit financial guarantees ahead of tomorrow’s bankruptcy court hearing. The loss-making French couture label had attracted interest from an Emirate sheikh and a French firm. The court will decide whether to accept the liquidation plan submitted by the company’s owners, [...]
House prices post fourth monthly gain November 29, 2009 UK House prices rose for a fourth consecutive month in November driven by continued rising demand, according to housing intelligence business Hometrack. The 0.2 per cent increase in prices pushed up the average house price in England and Wales to £156,700, up by £300 from last month’s average price. The rise brings the year-on-year rate [...]
Plush London homes rise in price as City money returns November 29, 2009 The CITY’S bankers are beginning to splash out again on prime property, according to the latest survey by estate agent Knight Frank, which reported that prices rose in November by 1.2 per cent. The lift means prime property homes – situated in the desirable postcodes of Mayfair, St Johns Wood and Kensington and over the [...]
China reaffirms that it wants to ensure a balanced yuan currency November 29, 2009 CHINESE premier Wen Jiabao yesterday restated the country’s long-standing position that the yuan currency’s exchange rate should be kept at a reasonable, balanced level. State television in China on Sunday showed Wen meeting a trio of top economic officials from the euro zone, who were making the case for a strengthening of the Chinese currency. [...]
ITV’s Norman blocked from M&B by Lewis November 29, 2009 JOE LEWIS, the Tottenham Hotspur owner and billionaire currency trader, has blocked Archie Norman from being appointed as Mitchell & Butlers chairman. Norman, who hit the headlines earlier this month when he was nominated as ITV’s new chairman, had been in talks to head up the £1bn pub group, which owns the All Bar One [...]
Archant shot down by fall in advertising November 29, 2009 NORWICH-based publisher Archant made a pre-tax loss of £25.2m last year as the savage pullback in advertising spend hit its regional newspaper and magazine businesses. The company, which owns titles such as the Eastern Daily Press and the Islington Gazette, said the collapse in the housing market particularly affected property classifieds, which are usually lucrative. [...]
JPM Caz still leading FTSE adviser pack… November 29, 2009 BLUE-blooded City brokerage JP Morgan Cazenove is still proving its mettle as the City’s dominant corporate broking player, topping the adviser leaderboard again over the past quarter despite uncertainty caused by its imminent takeover by JP Morgan. The latest Hemscott adviser rankings guide, published today, shows that the firm advises a total of 240 broking [...]