Housebuilders hail stability but warn mortgage drought will hurt July 9, 2009 Barratt shows signs of stability as volumes pick up but mortgage drought continues Barratt Developments yesterday reported a 19 per cent fall in private house prices over the last 12 months and warned that a sustained improvement in training conditions would remain elusive until the availability of mortgage finance recovers. However, the group has witnessed [...]
Begbies Traynor shares rise as profits grow on the back of bankruptcy boom July 9, 2009 INSOLVENCY specialist Begbies Traynor said yesterday that its full year pre-tax profit had risen 28 per cent as it benefited from the boom in businesses going bust, sending its shares higher. The accountancy firm reported a profit of £7.2m for the year to 30 April, and said that activity levels since are “significantly ahead” of [...]
AOL reviewing assets July 9, 2009 AOL, which is being spun off from Time Warner, is reviewing assets it could sell or divest, but will likely keep its social networking site Bebo, chief executive Tim Armstrong said yesterday. Armstrong told Reuters that Bebo still has “great value” and that it will be moved to a Ventures unit of the online company [...]
ICAO rejects calls for blacklist July 9, 2009 European Union proposal for a global blacklist for unsafe airlines was rejected by the head of aviation body ICAO yesterday. Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, president of the International Civil Aviation Organisation said: “I don’t think this is the solution at the global level. Discouraging passengers from going on particular aircraft or particular airlines on certain routes [...]
FSA secures bankruptcy order July 9, 2009 City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has secured a bankruptcy order in the High Court against former East London mortgage broker Sadia Nasir for non-payment of a £129,000 financial penalty levied on her by the FSA for mortgage fraud. This is the first time the FSA has taken bankruptcy proceedings for an unpaid financial [...]
City is the top bonds issuer July 8, 2009 LONDON is now the world centre for international bond issuance and also houses over two thirds of global trading of the bonds, according to International Financial Services London (IFSL). The group’s Bond Markets 2009 report said a total of $718bn (£448bn) worth of international bonds – issued when firms wish to raise capital by offering [...]
Ericsson signs deal at Cable & Wireless July 8, 2009 TELECOMS giant Cable & Wireless said yesterday it had signed a three-year contract with equipment maker Ericsson, to provide “voice solutions” for 600 of the latter’s staff in Coventry. As part of the deal, Fixed Mobile Convergence will allow Ericsson staff to use their mobiles for all calls. Mobiles can be routed to a landline [...]
London Capital warns of pain July 8, 2009 LONDON Capital Group, whose brands include Capital Spreads, forecast lower first-half profits yesterday due to a fall in interest income and greater investment in new trading software and white-label products. The online spread betting firm, which plans to maintain its interim dividend of 2.5p per share, however, said all its divisions remained profitable and that [...]
Opec in record export income July 8, 2009 OPEC’s income from oil and gas exports jumped 35 per cent to more than $1 trillion (£625bn) last year as world oil prices hit record highs, the oil cartel said in its Annual Statistical Bulletin yesterday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the total sales compared to $746bn in 2007, which was itself [...]
TIME TO BE MERRY July 8, 2009 THE Irish drinks group C&C, which makes Bulmers and Magners ciders, yesterday said its 2009-10 operating profit should be at the top end of its range of between £66.4-£7073m. C&C is headed by John Dunsmore.