Some more good news: Liquidations and personal insolvencies fall in second quarter August 2, 2013 The number of personal insolvencies and corporate liquidations in England and Wales both fell in the second quarter of the year, building on respective short and long term trends. The number of personal insolvencies fell to 25,717 – a decrease of 6.1 per cent on the same period last year. Bankruptcies were down 20.1 per [...]
Direct Line nearly doubles profits on cost cutting and good weather August 2, 2013 Insurance group Direct Line has reported a first half pre-tax profit of £208.8m – nearly double the £106.5m reported the year before thanks to rigorous cost cutting and lower personal injury and weather-related claims. The group, spun out of the Royal Bank of Scotland in a £787m float last year and is now 48.5 per [...]
UK residential construction output sees fastest growth since June 2010 August 2, 2013 The UK construction industry expanded by much more than expected in July, according to the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply and Markit Economics. Construction PMI was 57.0 in July, up from 51.0 the month before (a number above 50 indicates growth, below indicates contraction). Analysts were expecting [...]
RBS results wipe out all gains made on yesterday’s board approval of new boss Ross McEwan August 2, 2013 Worse than expected results from RBS have wiped out all of the share price gains made yesterday on McEwan's approval by the board. At one point, shares were down around 6.3 per cent. On City A.M. today: Our roundup of all the key RBS news RBS names new chief Ross McEwan. Source: Yahoo
Analyst says Fed looks unlikely to tighten policy pre-2016 August 2, 2013 After several good pieces of news for the US jobs market and strong manufacturing data this week, some have suggested that a tightening of policy by the Fed could be on the cards. Kit Juckes, Societe Generale, gives his view: Manufacturing PMI data brought a little relief in China, a bit of stability in the [...]
Lloyds presents Osborne with a dilemma – is it time to return the bank to private hands? August 2, 2013 As Lloyds shares pass their true break-even point of 73.6p, is it now time for chancellor George Osborne to return the bank to private hands? Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets: he turnaround is working and profits have returned. Another 30 days at/above 73.6p, or a 1/3 stake sale >61p, and the [...]
Poor Spanish unemployment data an embarrassment for prime minister Rajoy August 2, 2013 Spanish unemployment has fallen by just 64,900 in July, falling short of analyst forecasts of an 80,000 drop. Last month unemployment fell by 127,200. This could be embarassing for prime minister Mariano Rajoy, who yesterday said he expected a big improvement in unemployment data.
Former RBS chief executive gives blessing to successor Ross McEwan August 2, 2013 The Royal Bank of Scotland has formally announced the appointment of Ross McEwan to the position of chief executive alongside its half yearly results including a pre-tax profit of £1.4bn (full results). McEwan, head of RBS’s retail arm, will begin working from 1 October 2013. Chairman Philip Hampton said he has already become a “champion” [...]
Before the open – 02/08 August 2, 2013 Asian shares crept up further last night on the back of strong factory data from the US and the news that major central banks would be keeping monetary stimulus in place. US stocks jumped to record highs yesterday after manufacturing PMI, as measured by Markit and the Institute for Supply Management both beat expectations (rising [...]
The increase in UK house prices is accelerating August 2, 2013 UK house prices rose at their fastest pace in three years in July, with the average house price increasing by 3.9 per cent compared to the same month in 2012, according to data from Nationwide. Analysts had expected an increase of 3.1 per cent, following 1.9 per cent growth in June 2013. Month-on-month, house prices [...]