Mortgage approvals rise but consumers remain cautious July 23, 2009 UK MORTGAGE approvals rose to their highest level in June since March 2008 as the housing market shows signs of improvement and credit conditions are easing, according to data from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) released yesterday. Figures from the BBA showed that mortgage approvals climbed to 35,235 in June from 31,919 in May. David [...]
DOES THE LATEST RETAIL SALES DATA MARK A RETURN TO GROWTH? July 23, 2009 ALAN CLARKE BNP PARIBASOverall, consumer spending has probably troughed. Low mortgage payments have been helpful as has slowing inflation. However, with wage growth slowing, employment falling and consumers still cautious, we doubt that today’s increase marks a return to rampantspending growth. DAVID KERN BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCEThis is positive news that supports our assessment that [...]
AT&T beats expectations July 23, 2009 American telecoms giant AT&T yesterday reported a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit and strong sales of Apple’s iPhone, which brought new customers to the carrier but hurt its mobile profit margin. The results, which sent AT&T shares up 1.65 per cent, underscored the importance of the Apple relationship to the firm, which heavily subsidises the [...]
Darling to meet with banks July 23, 2009 Chancellor Alistair Darling said yesterday that he plans to meet the country’s major banks individually over the next week or two to discuss the shortage of business finance. Darling said that more needs to be done to address the lending freeze. He added that the plunge in property prices appears to be levelling off, and [...]
Swine flu growth doubles July 23, 2009 There have been 100,000 new cases of swine flu in the UK over the last week, according to the Department of Health. The number has doubled on last week. There are 840 people “seriously ill” with the virus, 63 of whom are being treated in intensive care. A hotline launched yesterday on 0800 151 3100.
Porsche boss axed as part of VW tie-up July 23, 2009 PORSCHE conceded defeat in a months-long power struggle with Volkswagen yesterday by axing its embattled chief executive, paving the way for VW to merge with the maker of the 911 sportscar. The luxury carmaker said Wendelin Wiedeking, its chief executive for the past 16 years and Germany’s best-paid executive, would leave the group immediately, along [...]
ING mulls private bank sale July 23, 2009 DUTCH bank ING is understood to have hired JPMorgan to manage the sale of its European and Asian private banking business, valued by the bank at more than €700m (£605m). The bank announced a plan earlier this year to dispose of up to €8bn worth of assets, as new chief executive Jan Hommen bids to [...]
World’s banks tighten up lending levels, says BIS July 23, 2009 THE world’s banks lent $6 trillion (£3.6 trillion) less in the year to March than they did in the previous year, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) said yesterday. Total lending worldwide shrank by $1.5 trillion, or over 4 per cent, in the first quarter of this year at current exchange rates, BIS said. However, [...]
GM and Berlin still locked in talks over European operations, Ford posts profit July 23, 2009 US carmaker General Motors said yesterday it was still in detailed talks with both Canadian car parts firm Magna and Belgian private equity outfit RHJ International, who are looking to buy its European arm. GM has been considering three final offers for GM Europe – which consists of Opel in Germany and Vauxhall in the [...]
Tamiflu swine flu drug boosts Roche but Genentech takeover dents profits July 23, 2009 SWISS drugs firm Roche yesterday booked a massive drop in profits due to its takeover of Genentech – despite increasing demand for its swine flu treatment Tamiflu. The group said its first half profit fell by 29 per cent to SFr4.1bn (£2.3bn) from SFr5.7bn a year earlier. The drop in profits was mainly due to [...]