Irish house prices see their first annual rise since January 2008 July 23, 2013 The battered Irish economy has seen large rises in house prices today, with a surge of 1.2 per cent in the month of June after growth of 0.3 per cent last month. This marks the first annual rise in Irish house prices since January 2008, with prices in Dublin increasing 4.2 per cent over the [...]
Spanish prime minister to be questioned in parliament over corruption and economy July 23, 2013 Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy will appear before Congress in the morning of 1 August to discuss political and economic situation in the country. Rajoy will primarily be questioned on the so-called Barcenas scandal, after his Popular Party’s former treasury Luis Barcenas said he was the author of leaked documents alleging party officials were illegally [...]
UK mortgage approvals rise to a 17-month high as chancellor meets with lenders to discuss Help to Buy July 23, 2013 Some 37,278 home loans were approved in June 2013 – a 17-month high – according to a report from the British Banker’s Association. While this came in below analysts' expectations of a rise to 38,500, mortgage approvals were still up 32 per cent from June 2012 and 17 per cent from the 2012 average. It [...]
Ryanair to sell Aer Lingus stake ahead of hotly contested Competition Commission ruling July 23, 2013 Ryanair has offered to sell its stake in Aer Lingus to another EU airline, it announced today. In May, the UK Competition Commission said it was concerned that Ryanair’s 29 per cent stake could reduce competition on routes between the UK and Ireland and would obstruct Aer Lingus’s ability to merge with other airlines to [...]
Spanish recession moderates as GDP shrinks by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter July 23, 2013 The Bank of Spain has announced that GDP shrunk by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, from a 0.5 per cent downturn in the first quarter. Strong exports drove he moderation of recession, adding 0.4 percentage points to GDP growth. The central bank now sees annual GDP growth of -1.8 per cent in the [...]
Premier Food shares jump as cost cutting boosts profits (but underlying sales are falling) July 23, 2013 Premier foods, the company behind the Hovis bread and Mr Kipling brands, expects full-year results to be at the top end of forecasts after reporting a 50 per cent jump in first half underlying trading profit (release). It now expects cash flow for 2013 to be between £50m and £70m – up from previous expectations [...]
Carpetright like-for-like sales drop 1.9 per cent in the first half as Netherlands remains tough July 23, 2013 Retailer Carpetright has seen like-for-like sales drop by 1.9 per cent in the first half of the year, with total sales in the UK down by 3.3 per cent (release). Like-for-like sales in the Rest of Europe (Netherlands, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland) decreased by 10.6%. Total sales declined by 10.9%. After the impact [...]
French business climate better in July with signs of cyclical improvement July 23, 2013 (Source: INSEE) New data shows that French business climate has improved from 93 to 95 in July, beating expectations of a rise to 94. The turning point indicator swings to the favorable area, indicating a cyclical improvement. While export order books decreased slightly, total order books improved. Nevertheless, global and export order books are still [...]
Before the open – 23/07 July 23, 2013 Asian markets have performed well overnight as hints of Chinese easing have given traders confidence in equities. Now we're expecting that exuberance to translate into some mild gains for the FTSE and other European markets. Good morning – looking ahead to the open here are the forecasts for indices: FTSE100 +15 at 6638; DAX +20 [...]
CNBC Comment: 2014 could see more pain for Eurozone July 22, 2013 IT HAS been impossible to tune out the din from the Fed on tapering, with the exit from QE dominating sentiment. But don’t be fooled into thinking the Eurozone crisis has disappeared. Europe has been on a slow boil, and could burn investors again this year or even worse in 2014 – when the first [...]