London house prices skyrocket at double the national rate but sales fall January 29, 2016 London house prices rose at almost double the average rate for England and Wales last year, with the average price of property in the capital now totting up to a lofty £514,097. The Land Registry’s House Price Index in December showed that the cost of getting on to the ladder in London rose by 12.4 per [...]
Eurozone inflation edges up to 0.4 per cent but is still way off the European Central Bank’s target January 29, 2016 Eurozone inflation crept up slightly to 0.4 per cent in January, but remains far from the European Central Bank’s target of just under two per cent. Consumer prices grew from a rate of 0.2 per cent in December, according to official figures from Eurostat. The services sector picked up in January, coming in at 1.2 [...]
Vedanta Resources’ share price jumps despite lacklustre third-quarter update January 29, 2016 Core earnings at Vedanta Resources plummet 51 per cent in the third quarter, hammered by the ongoing commodities rout. The Indian mining conglomerate reported a decline in core earnings to $493.6m (£343.8m), while total group revenue slumped 27 per cent to $2.4bn. Its aluminium division took the biggest hit, with earnings falling 84 per cent over [...]
Iron ore prices approach Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh’s feared “fantasy land” level January 29, 2016 Iron ore prices are careering towards what one mining industry executive previously dismissed as “fantasy land” territory – and some analysts have warned it could fall even lower. Mining companies have been pummelled by low mineral and metal prices, forcing them to restructure their business models and scrap dividends. Iron ore prices are currently at $41 [...]
Jupiter Energy in turm-oil due to fall in Brent crude price January 29, 2016 What a difference a year makes. Aussie oil producer Jupiter Energy, which explores in Kazakhstan, shut all its operational wells back in February 2015, saying it wanted to wait “until domestic oil pricing reaches a level where oil production is cashflow positive”. Back then, Brent crude was priced at around $60 a barrel, which seemed like [...]
Crazy London house prices have pushed Aim-listed Formation Group’s revenues up almost 200 per cent January 29, 2016 London’s buoyant property market has helped construction management firm Formation Group report revenue growth of 199 per cent for the year ending 31 August 2015. Group revenues rose to £23.7m over the period, compared with £7.941m the previous year, while profits before taxation were £2.2m from continuing operations, up from a 2014 loss of £99,000. [...]
Oil price volatility has turned around this company’s fortunes January 29, 2016 Oil market volatility has been lucky for some – Tullett Prebon today said it expects its full-year profit margin to be higher than previously thought, thanks to the continued uncertainty surrounding black gold. While oil explorers are crying into their (offline) wells, the FTSE 250-quoted interdealer broker said “the increased level of activity experienced throughout the year [...]
FTSE 100 hovers close to 6,000 after Bank of Japan unveils shock interest rate cut January 29, 2016 The FTSE briefly edged above 6,000 points again this morning as investors cheered a shock decision by the Japanese central bank to cut one of its main interest rates to negative. The bank cut its benchmark rate to -0.1 per cent, effectively meaning it will charge lenders interest for excessive reserves parked in its coffers. The news caused Japanese [...]
First-time housing market booming in the UK despite fall in purchases over the Christmas period January 29, 2016 THE NUMBER of first-time home buyers in the UK fell in December due to the traditional Christmas period slowdown, but showed healthy growth over the year, new data has shown today. First-time buyer numbers fell by 1,300 or 4.7 per cent month-on-month due to the “traditional winter cooling” period, according to the first-time buyer tracker [...]
UK confidence in housing market remains strong despite waning economic outlook January 29, 2016 CONFIDENCE in the UK housing market remains strong, despite growing concerns over the wider economy, according to new research today. The latest quarterly Halifax Housing Market Confidence Tracker showed that despite confidence declining steadily since May, the majority of people still believe that average UK property prices will be higher in 12 months’ time, with [...]