Wall Street up for third day as retail sales cheer July 8, 2010 WALL STREET rose for a third straight day yesterday as investors were encouraged to see jobless claims fall and a handful of large retailers report solid sales. Stocks have regained their footing after a slew of poor data had raised fears of a double-dip recession. But low market volume suggested investors are still skeptical, and [...]
Safeguard your possessions July 8, 2010 FROM “an Englishman’s home is his castle” to “keeping up with the Joneses”, there are plenty of old adages evoking Britons’ love for their houses and their possessions. Combine this with our customary practice of preparing for the worst and you might think that we would be rather conscientious about insuring our homes and their [...]
Store up your miles to jet off on holiday July 8, 2010 CREDIT cards can offer a whole range of rewards, from shopping vouchers to money off your bills. For City workers who are frequently jetting off on business, there are great opportunities to store up airmiles to be redeemed on flights for your next holiday. Here are three of the best at offering air travel rewards. [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS July 8, 2010 MILLIONAIRE PROPERTIES ARE BACK According to new research from Santander Mortgages, Britain has seen a 393 per cent increase in the number of property millionaires since 2000. While 43,000 homes lost their value to take them under the £1m mark during the credit crunch, the numbers have risen again to nearly 147,000, the level they [...]
Bringing panache to lunchtime July 8, 2010 THE eureka moment for a new business idea can strike at any time. For Mark Lilley it was while he was eating fresh sushi with his wife in downtown Sydney in the middle of a round-the-world trip in 2002. The result was a ticket home and opening Abokado, a cross between a sushi bar and [...]
Is the age of small businesses ending? July 8, 2010 A GROWING divide is emerging between the fortunes of the UK’s large and small businesses. While UK Plc has seen strong profits and is sitting on record high cash piles, life has been harder for small businesses and entrepreneurs. According to a survey from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta), venture [...]
INSURANCE July 8, 2010 Q. What are the basic kinds of insurance required of a small business? A.Business insurance requirements depend on the firm’s type, but at the bare minimum you will require public liability insurance, business motor insurance and liability insurance for any employees. While public liability insurance isn’t necessarily legally mandated, most serious businesses cover themselves for [...]
FTSE is boosted by banks as stress test fears begin to ease July 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index ended higher after a choppy session yesterday, driven by a recovery in banking stocks on reassuring comments from US peer State Street and an easing of stress test fears. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 49.82 points higher, or up 1.0 per cent, at 5,014.82, its high for the [...]
State Street profit upgrade lifts stocks July 7, 2010 US stocks logged their best one-day gain in about six weeks yesterday after a bullish forecast from financial company State Street fuelled optimism about the coming earnings season and helped the S&P 500 break above a major resistance level. State Street shares closed 9.9 percent higher at $36.63 after the asset manager and custody firm [...]
Understanding exposure to counterparty risk is crucial July 7, 2010 RISK is an acceptable, even a welcomed part of trading. Every trade comes with some risk attached; it’s just a case of knowing what the potential problems are and being comfortable with them. But as the financial crisis showed, pinpointing where the risk lies is not always so straightforward – even big institutions didn’t always [...]