UK house prices: No respite in sight for the housing market August 21, 2015 The housing market shows no sign of easing up this summer with prices climbing and mortgage lending seeing its strongest month for seven years. City level house prices are seeing their fastest growth for over a decade, property market analysts Hometrack said today. It said asking prices had increased 4.3 per cent in the [...]
Isis fight sends Iraq to debt markets August 21, 2015 Baghdad plans to raise $6bn as ongoing battles with militants have decimated infrastructure. Iraq is heading to the bond markets with hopes of raising billions, as low oil prices and the fight against Isis eat into state finances. Deputy governor of Iraq’s central bank, Zuhair Ali Akbar, confirmed the country will issue $6bn [...]
HP sales slip as consumers hold off buying PCs August 21, 2015 Computing giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) reported its fourth straight quarter of lower revenues yesterday, pointing to a strong dollar, weak personal computer sales and lower demand from corporates for its services. Falling demand for PCs has severely impacted the company, with HP reporting a drop in quarterly sales in 15 of the last 16 quarters. Revenue at HP’s [...]
Global markets have had an awful day: FTSE, Dow, S&P and others close down on economic growth worries August 20, 2015 It's been an awful day for markets around the world. US stocks suffered their worst losses of 2015 while the FTSE 100 entered official correction territory caused by fears surrounding economic growth, particularly a slowdown in China, the world's second-largest economy. Markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen were down more than three per cent, while in [...]
Twitter’s share price is tanking: Stock swoops below $26 IPO price August 20, 2015 The rapidly declining share price of Twitter has swooped lower than its IPO price of $26 – a new nadir for the troubled social network. Twitter shares have fallen by more than six per cent in early afternoon trading, sending stock as low as $25.94 per share, and tumbling past the marker which signals the [...]
Manufacturers and home sales buoy US outlook August 20, 2015 Manufacturers in the Philadelphia region are growing strongly this month, according to survey figures released yesterday, easing fears over the sector’s health. Meanwhile, US existing house purchases rose to an eight-year high last month, showing that consumer spending was in fine fettle. The Philadelphia Federal Index ticked up to a score of 8.3 this month from [...]
Premier cuts costs as it joins the oil leak August 20, 2015 Premier Oil yesterday announced losses of $214.7m (£137m) as the effects of over-supply in the market made their way on to another oil company’s balance sheets. The firm’s losses came despite revenues coming in ahead of expectations at $577. Premier said it had implemented a series of cost-cutting measures to see it through a period [...]
CBI industrial trends survey: Manufacturing orders unexpectedly improve in August August 20, 2015 A widely watched industry survey has shown manufacturer's order books unexpectedly improved this month. The CBI's industrial trends survey showed monthly total order book balance increased to -1 from -10 in July. Economists had expected it to remain stagnant. Output continued to grow at a steady pace in the three months to August, and this should continue [...]
Why we are still only building half the homes we need? August 20, 2015 Today’s release of the latest figures for homebuilding by the Department for Communities and Local Government make for interesting reading for all those interested in ending our nation’s housing crisis. Read more: The number of new homes being built has actually fallen Ultimately, they are a mixed bag. On a positive note, housing [...]
Uber safety: “Lax” background checks slammed as convicted criminals allowed to become drivers August 20, 2015 Background checks by taxi-hailing app Uber have come under fire, after California prosecutors slammed it for security routines so lax that convicted sex offenders and even murderers were allegedly allowed to become drivers. California prosecutors are widening a civil lawsuit they originally brought against Uber in December last year, alleging that the company misleads customers [...]