PwC warns on house prices July 14, 2009 Despite cries of green shoots in the property sector, Price Waterhouse Cooper’s latest economic outlook yesterday forecast further falls in house prices between 2009 and 2010 before they flatten out in 2011. PwC also says that house prices may not return to last year’s levels until 2020. The new bearish findings are based on projections [...]
Airport hotels feel the squeeze July 14, 2009 The UK hotel sector is continuing to suffer from a drop in revenue per available room (revPAR), but the capital is holding up better than regional Britain, according to a report out yesterday by Deloitte. Overall revPAR decline across the UK has accelerated by one percentage point to 13.7 per cent since April to June. [...]
Inflation falls below Bank’s 2pc target July 14, 2009 CONSUMER price inflation fell below the Bank of England target of two per cent for the first time since September 2007, official data showed yesterday. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated that the consumer prices index (CPI) fell to 1.8 per cent in June, on an annual basis while the broader retail [...]
US officials at odds over bailout for CIT July 14, 2009 US GOVERNMENT officials were last locked in debate over whether to throw a lifeline to ailing business lender CIT Group. Despite fears that CIT’s financial woes could spell disaster for up to a million small and medium-sized businesses, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) is resisting calls to offer the firm access to its loan [...]
FSA promises to restore trust July 14, 2009 FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) chairman Lord Adair Turner last night vowed to restore consumer trust in financial services. Turner said the City watchdog’s financial capability programme would inform consumers, while measures to crack down on misconduct would prevent companies from taking advantage of customers. He heralded the government’s decision to expand a money guidance service [...]
OECD countries to lose 30m jobs July 14, 2009 Developed countries will lose about 30m jobs from the end of 2007 through the end of 2010, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said yesterday, underscoring concerns the global economy has yet to recover from its worst recession in at least seven decades. The job losses were mainly a result of the global financial [...]
Britvic sales fizzing due to sports deals July 14, 2009 SOFT drinks company Britvic yesterday reported a 5.9 per cent jump in revenues for the three months to 5 July, boosted by a summer of sports sponsorship deals. The group reported a three per cent rise in still drink volumes and an 8.3 per cent jump in revenues, largely thanks to its squash brand Robinsons, [...]
Drop in house prices easing July 14, 2009 HOUSE prices only fell marginally in May compared to the previous month, taking the annual decline to 12.5 per cent, data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) showed yesterday. In the three months to May, UK house prices fell by 0.4 per cent compared to a fall of 4.8 per cent in [...]
Evercore brought in to sell failing BusinessWeek July 14, 2009 MCGRAW-HILL has hired boutique investment bank Evercore Partners to find it a buyer for its loss-making BusinessWeek magazine, according to sources close to the company. BusinessWeek occupies a niche that includes titles such as Forbes, Fortune and Money. Along with its peers, it has suffered a precipitous drop in ad revenue, in part because of [...]
IASB proposing new fair value rule in wake of crisis July 14, 2009 THE International Accounting Standards Board ( IASB ) yesterday proposed to simplify a key valuation rule that European Union finance ministers have blamed for amplifying the financial crisis. The Group of 20 (G20) industrialised and emerging market countries agreed in April that the fair value rule should be revised to make company statements clearer for [...]