Bovis Homes see average selling price soar to £210,000 as completions rise 54pc July 8, 2014 Bovis Homes has seen a 54 per cent rise in completions in the first half of 2014; its highest ever number of completions for the first half of a financial year. According to its latest trading update completions stood at 1,487 for the first six months of 2014, up from 963 in the corresponding period last [...]
Shock fall: UK manufacturing production drops in May July 8, 2014 UK output looks to be taking a tumble, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Industrial and manufacturing production both dropped in May, down by 0.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. The picture is a little confusing for economy watchers. The news follows survey data suggesting we'd see strong [...]
Samsung set for worst results in two years as it predicts 25pc profit drop July 8, 2014 Samsung Electronics revealed today that it forecasts weak quarterly earnings, resulting in what would be its worst results in two years. This has cast doubt on the smartphone producer's ability to compete with cheaper Chinese rivals. The South Korean company has suffered at the hands of the recent slowdown in growth of the smartphone [...]
Marks & Spencer reports 1.5pc fall in underlying sales July 8, 2014 High street retailer Marks & Spencer has released its quarterly figures, revealing a 1.5 per cent fall in underlying sales. The results, which are for the 13 weeks to 28 June, also show that like-for-like sales of clothing fell by 0.6 per cent, marking three straight years of quarterly falls for the division. [...]
David Cameron pledges to end London domination July 7, 2014 Prime Minister David Cameron joined the herd of politicians criticising the country’s reliance on London yesterday, even as official figures demonstrated the long-term increase in the capital city’s value to the economy. “For too long our economy has been too London-focused and too centralised,” Cameron said, launching the first part of a £12bn investment programme [...]
The Tour de France comes to the City July 7, 2014 THOUSANDS of spectators lined the riverside to cheer on the Tour de France cyclists yesterday as they sped through the City. The 155km-long Cambridge to London stretch of the race yesterday saw the competitors cut across the north end of the Isle of Dogs, passing Canary Wharf yesterday afternoon. They entered the City minutes later at Tower [...]
Miliband to woo firms by training better graduates July 7, 2014 Labour will today announce plans to help businesses recruit and retain trained graduates, with new technical degrees backed by some of the UK’s biggest companies. The party’s leader Ed Miliband will give a speech setting out the policy, which would see the new degrees developed in conjunction with businesses and universities, to meet the needs [...]
Two new polls give Labour a seven point lead July 7, 2014 Two new polls have given Labour a strong seven point lead with just ten months to go before the general election in May. Polls from both Lord Ashcroft and Populus show Labour on 34 per cent and 38 per cent respectively, with the Conservatives behind on 27 and 31 per cent. The new surveys are [...]
May launches fresh inquiries into child abuse July 7, 2014 HOME secretary Theresa May has announced a wide-ranging inquiry into historic child sex-abuse scandals and the way they were handled by UK institutions. The inquiry will be headed up by an independent panel of child protection experts and will not report before the general election next year, May told the House of Commons yesterday. It [...]
Spire Healthcare lays out price range amid Bupa contract talks July 7, 2014 The UK’s second biggest private hospital chain Spire Healthcare set a 210p to 300p per share price range yesterday on its looming stock debut. The group, made up of 39 private hospitals and 13 clinics, is hoping to raise £315m from investors in the share issue to cut debts and provide an exit route for [...]