Help to Buy assists 155 per cent boost in Nationwide profits November 15, 2013 British building society Nationwide has reported a whopping underlying profit increase of 155 per cent, for the six months to the end of September. Underlying profit was £332m compared to £130m during the same period in 2012. Nationwide attributed the dramatic growth to increased lending and a burst of new customers switching to the building [...]
IAG hikes 2015 profit target by 12.5 per cent November 15, 2013 On Friday, International Airline Group (IAG) raised its 2015 operating profit target by 12.5 per cent, or €1.8bn (£1.5bn). The British-Spanish multinational, which owns British Airways (BA) and Iberia, attributed the increased profit target to improved performance at BA and its Spanish based airline, Vueling. BA's 2015 operating profit target was raised from £1.1bn to [...]
Capco reports strong financial position on back of Covent Garden estate November 15, 2013 Capital and Counties (Capco) has posted strong results this morning, announcing that its Covent Garden estate is on track to achieve £60-65m estimated rental value (ERV) by December 2015. It also said that its achieved significant progress in its £8bn Earls Court development. (Release) Since 30 June, Covent Garden has seen new lettings and renewals [...]
What you need to know before the open – 15/11 November 15, 2013 US markets continue to see record highs on the back of Janet Yellen's easy money talk yesterday, and their Asian counterparts followed suit in Friday trading. But European markets, whilst gaining of the Fed chair elect's comments, did not respond with the same enthusiasm. One reason for this could be that Europe has a weaker [...]
SABMiller chairman Graham Mackay steps down for second time November 15, 2013 Brewer SABMiller has said this morning that its chairman Graham Mackay is to step down for a second time this year, due to deteriorating health. (Release) Mr Mackay went on medical leave earlier in the year, after having surgery on a brain tumour in April. He recovered sufficiently to return to his role as non-executive [...]
Yellen flies flag for easy money November 14, 2013 MARKETS cheered yesterday as Federal Reserve chair nominee Janet Yellen mounted her defence of the Fed’s radical quantitative easing (QE) to the US Senate, raising hopes that the country’s ultra-loose monetary policy will be continued. Yellen, known for her dovish stance which favours low interest rates, used her testimony to defend QE, which has so [...]
City firms back EU’s revamped insurance rules November 14, 2013 EUROPE’S biggest insurers yesterday hailed a crucial EU deal to introduce a new regulatory framework for insurers in Europe. The agreement, which follows more than a decade of wrangling over the policy, is set to introduce European-wide rules on how much capital insurers need to hold in proportion to their investments and policies. The rules, [...]
Ireland and Spain to go it alone as exit bailouts November 14, 2013 BOTH IRELAND and Spain yesterday said that they would exit their international bailouts within two and three months respectively, without further assistance. The Irish government will go without a precautionary line of credit as the €85bn (£71.21bn) bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) rolls to an end on 15 December. It has [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 15 November 2013 November 14, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Ofgem clashes with energy firms Network charges, identified by energy suppliers as a reason for inflation-busting price rises, are not going up as much as companies say, according to the UK’s energy regulator. Energy suppliers have blamed higher bills on rising costs in three areas: the wholesale energy they buy on international markets; [...]
David Miles fears enormous housing debts November 14, 2013 HOUSE prices are hitting such unaffordable levels that households should seek new ways of buying, in a bid to avoid taking on dangerously high levels of debt, the Bank of England’s David Miles said yesterday. He wants to see a range of shared equity products to leave home owners paying both a mortgage and some [...]