Abbey makes moves on mortgages October 26, 2005 Abbey is to mount an assault on the British mortgage market by plugging into new business areas. The bank, which was taken over by Spanish group Santander for £8bn last year, wants to make up ground lost to its rivals in the areas of lending to buy-to-let investors, people wanting loans for new-build properties, and [...]
Amazon profits hit by increased competition October 26, 2005 Amazon, the online bookseller, last night unveiled a $30m (£16.8m) profit for the third quarter. Some of the gloss was taken off increased sales, however, as it admitted that a patent dispute had cost it $20m. Seattle-based Amazon made a one-off payment to settle a patent lawsuit in the third quarter. Its profit, otherwise, would [...]
Bush names Bernanke Fed chairman October 25, 2005 President George W Bush has nominated Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke was a bookies’ favourites, along with Republican stalwarts Martin Feldstein and Glenn Hubbard, both advisors to Ronald Reagan. A former economics professor at America’s elite Princeton University, Bernanke served as a Fed governor between 2002 and [...]
Ericsson on brink of £1.2bn Marconi deal October 25, 2005 Swedish mobile phones giant Ericsson is expected to announce a £1.2bn cash deal this morning to purchase the major assets of British engineering group Marconi. Marconi shareholders are expected to receive a cash pay out of £2.50 to £3 per share at the start of next year. That is close to the price shares in [...]
House price drop cannot be hidden October 24, 2005 Annual house price inflation was 1.8 per cent according to the latest analysis by the Nationwide Building Society. That is the lowest figure since May 1996, but it is still an exaggeration. Prices rose by 1.8 per cent in the six months to last April — but they have not risen at all in the [...]
Max Petroleum set for AIM flotation October 24, 2005 Max Petroleum is to become the eighth largest AIM quote this year in the ever-growing oil and gas sector when it floats on Wednesday. The company is raising £26m and expects to reach a market capitalisation of £90m. It is also due to list in Frankfurt on the same day. The group specialises in oil [...]
London is too taxed October 24, 2005 The government is imposing an onerous and discriminatory system on taxpayers in London, according to a recent survey. The survey by Williams de Broe into regional disparities in the cost of living has found that the starting point for income tax in London should be £1,550 higher than in the country’s poorest region, Northern Ireland, [...]
House prices slip again October 24, 2005 House prices have fallen for the 16th consecutive month according to the Hometrack October survey. This pours cold water on recent claims that the market is picking up. Hometrack says that the average house price has fallen by 3.5 per cent to £160,000 over the past 12 months from a peak of £167,000 in June [...]
Record profit warnings October 21, 2005 The number of British companies issuing profit warnings in September surged to a four-year record due to difficult market and trading conditions. According to research by Ernst & Young, 103 firms listed on the London Stock Exchange issued a warning in the three months to 30 September. This represents a rise of 39 per cent [...]
Porsche upbeat about vehicles sales target October 21, 2005 German luxury carmaker Porsche will hit its mid-term vehicles sales target earlier than planned, its sales chief told German industry newspaper Automobilwoche. “We will not have to wait until 2008 to reach annual sales of 100,000 units,” Hans Riedel said in an interview to be published this morning. In the fiscal year that ended in [...]