US and China are set in spending and saving habits November 15, 2009 Alistair Darling has played host to the world’s most important money men (and women) a few times already this year, most recently in his native Scotland, but he might be forgiven for feeling a bit envious as the world looks to where the really important decisions are being made this week: at the Singapore meeting [...]
Evolution ups private client ante November 15, 2009 EVOLUTION group chief executive Alex Snow is today set to confirm the hire of private banker Philip Howell to head up its wealth management business, Williams de Broë. Howell, who formerly ran Fortis private bank’s operations in the UK, Channel Islands, Italy, Spain, Gibraltar and Monaco, will become chief executive of the division. He takes [...]
Lloyds left 1.3bn out of pocket from Kenmore demise and Admiral swap November 15, 2009 Kenmore Property Group, which collapsed into administration last week, owes more than £700m to Lloyds Banking Group. Kenmore, which controlled £1.8bn of assets, was put into administration last Thursday by Grant Thornton, after becoming incapable of meeting any of its existing business obligations as a result of falling home sales. Owned by one of Scotland’s [...]
Mining firm raises $25m to expand in Sierra Leone November 15, 2009 TITANIUM Resources, the AIM-listed miner, has raised $25m (£15.1m) to fund an expansion at its operations in Sierra Leone. The company will announce today that 151.2m shares were placed at 10p a share in its recent capital raising. Titanium, which is digging up one of the world’s biggest deposits of rutile (titanium dioxide), said it [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 15, 2009 MARSTON’SUBS said that the fall in the Marston’s share price had triggered a review and its rating upgrade from “sell” to “neutral”, but added that uncertain prospects and the lack of an immediate catalyst mean the shares are not yet a “buy”. The broker commented that the group’s managed pub results have been relatively strong [...]
House prices fall in run up to Christmas November 15, 2009 ASKING prices for homes in England and Wales are expected to see three months of price falls as sellers postpone moving until after the Christmas period, property website Rightmove will say today. The 1.6 per cent monthly fall in November marks an end to the buoyancy that has characterised the property market during the autumn [...]
BCC: access to funds tough November 15, 2009 MORE companies had difficulty accessing finance over the past quarter, according to a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Despite the Bank of England flooding the economy with £200bn, banks are still being tight-fisted, posing a “serious problem for British businesses”, according to the BCC Its Monthly Business Survey, published today, found a [...]
John Lewis sales boost shows confidence is back November 15, 2009 Bellwether retailer John Lewis provided fresh signs of confidence seeping back into the high street by reporting a 17.1 per cent rise in sales last week compared to last year. And the group said that the past week’s trading is also £500,000 up on 2007, pre-credit crunch, when shoppers spent £71.98 on average each. John [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 15, 2009 Berrymans Lace MawerThe law firm has hired Chris Fitton to its professional indemnity team as a partner.Fitton joins from rival Pinsent Masons, where he was also a partner and headed up its Birmingham insurance team. He specialises in resolving professional negligence claims against solicitors and financial intermediaries, with clients including Lloyd’s underwriters, composite insurers, IFAs [...]
DO YOU THINK WE WILL SEE A LULL IN THE HOUSING MARKET? November 15, 2009 HOWARD ELSTON AYLESFORD INTERNATIONALWe nearly always get a lull once November turns into December unless the market is absolutely roaring. But I suspect the market is not strong enough this year for it to be a good month. I don’t think we will see activity picking up again until the middle of January. ED STANSFIELD [...]