Chinese house prices fall again leading to fears of slowdown April 18, 2012 HOUSE prices are falling in most Chinese cities, according to an official study published yesterday, raising concern about the severity of the economy’s slowdown. Of the 70 surveyed in March, 46 cities experienced falling prices in the month while 16 were unchanged and just eight reported a rise. That compares with 45 falling in February. [...]
Mortgage fraud increases 8pc April 18, 2012 MORTGAGE fraud rose by eight per cent last year, according to research out yesterday from Experian. Thirty-four out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent, double the overall rate of fraud across the UK’s financial services sector. Most cases involved people providing false personal information on their application and in particular attempts [...]
TUC BOSS BRENDAN BARBER TO STEP DOWN April 18, 2012 TRADES Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber yesterday announced he will stand down from the role at the end of the year, after 10 years in the job. TUC president Paul Kenny praised his “immense contribution to the trade union movement.” Barber’s replacement will be elected at the 2012 congress in September.
CME Group eyes Black Sea future April 18, 2012 CME Group said yesterday it would launch a Black Sea wheat futures contract in June, if approved by regulators, marking the exchange’s first foray into a non-US based wheat contract. Tim Andriesen, managing director for Agricultural Commodities and Alternative Investments for the CME group, said “We firmly believe this contract will not only establish an [...]
Saga lashes out at Bank’s QE April 18, 2012 Saga warned yesterday of increased inflation and damaged pensions if quantitive easing (QE) continues, arguing that it is not as effective in boosting the economy as originally intended. Saga chief Ros Altmann called on the government to minimise the damage of QE on pensions and find alternatives for boosting the economy. The comments come after [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 18, 2012 Sberbank As part of the integration of Sberbank of Russia and Troika Dialog, Elena Shilina has been appointed head of the private banking group. She will report directly to Ruben Vardarian, president of Troika. Since May 2011, Shilina has headed the Sberbank-Troika integration committee. She has previously worked for Nomos Bank as vice-president, McKinsey, Rosbank [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 18, 2012 HISCOX JP Morgan has raised its price target on the insurer from 420p to 430p with a “neutral” rating, saying it should appeal to investors seeking exposure to a Lloyd’s speciality insurer with a low risk profile, that is more defensive than some of its peers. WOLSELEY Berenberg Bank has maintained its “buy” recommendation on [...]
BoE raises alarm over inflation April 18, 2012 Britain’s current high inflation may now be at greater risk of lasting into the medium term, the Bank of England warned, casting doubt on whether it will inject more economic stimulus next month. Minutes to the BoE’s April 4-5 meeting showed on Wednesday showed that a long-standing advocate of more quantitative easing, Adam Posen, had [...]
UK unemployment edges down April 18, 2012 The UK unemployment rate edged down in the three months to February, official statistics showed. The number of people without a job on the ILO measure fell by 35,000 in the three months to February to 2.65m, the Office for National Statistics said. The jobless rate fell to 8.3 per cent, compared with forecasts that [...]
GKN profit rise fuelled by automotive arm April 18, 2012 Car and plane parts maker GKN posted a 19 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, driven by a strong performance from its automotive business and acquisitions made last year. GKN reported a trading profit of £142m in the first three months of the year on revenues 17 per cent higher at £1.74bn. GKN reported a [...]