Asking prices for houses soar by over four per cent February 20, 2012 PRICE tags on houses coming to market have shot up by an eye-watering 4.1 per cent this month, according to Rightmove – partly caused by cash-rich buyers boosting demand in areas such as west London. The sudden surge in asking prices is the sharpest in nearly 10 years, the online estate agent revealed today. The [...]
Entrepreneurs brush off the blues to target profits February 20, 2012 ENTREPRENEURS are increasingly pessimistic about the UK’s economic outlook over the next 12 months, a report has revealed – yet these leading business-builders remain bullish over their own firms’ prospects. Nearly half of a surveyed group of Britain’s leading entrepreneurs expect the economy to deteriorate either slightly or considerably over the coming year, while only [...]
Plain cigarette packets could damage health February 20, 2012 PROPOSALS to remove colours and logos from cigarette packets may do more harm than good, encouraging smugglers and increasing the number of poor quality, illegal cigarettes smoked, according to research out today from the Adam Smith Institute. In the coming weeks the government is expected to announce a consultation on a range of proposals, including [...]
Small budget surplus in January, say economists February 20, 2012 GOVERNMENT finances are expected to show a surplus when January’s figures are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) tomorrow. The month typically sees large receipts as self-assessment income tax payments are made – January of 2011 registered a budget surplus of £5.175bn, for example, and was one of only two months without a [...]
WAS THE PUBLIC PURSE IN GOOD SHAPE LAST MONTH? February 20, 2012 VICKY REDWOOD | CAPITAL ECON January is the biggest month for tax receipts, which have recently been a bit disappointing. Accordingly, we expect a slightly smaller public sector surplus than last year, of around £4bn. But there is uncertainty as this will be the first time that January’s self assessment receipts are affected by the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 20, 2012 Rowanmoor Pensions Rowanmoor Pensions, the independent small self-administered scheme provider and self-invested personal pensions operator, has appointed Martin Stead as a regulated consultant in its consultancy team. Stead joins from AXA Wealth, where he was a financial planning manager in the company’s Bancassurance division. Prior to AXA Wealth, Stead was a corporate relationship manager at [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD February 20, 2012 Today At this morning’s results for Bluetooth technology firm CSR, investors will be looking at how much value the company’s acquisition of peer Zoran in August last year brings. CSR is guiding that revenue for the first quarter will be between $230m and $250m (£145m and £158m), but analysts have a more cautious forecast of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 20, 2012 SCHRODERS Citi downgrades the asset manager from neutral to “sell” and increases its target price on the stock to £13.70 from £13.10, after a year-to-date rally of 18 per cent in the value of its shares. The broker says that Schroders – and fund managers in general – need to see near-term fund flow recovery [...]
Keir wins £100m nuclear contract February 20, 2012 British construction group Kier has won a £100m contract from France’s EDF to prepare the ground for construction of a new nuclear power station in the west of England. Kier said in a statement on Monday that the contract to carry out site works for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is due [...]
S&P warns Japan over debt February 20, 2012 Standard & Poor’s warned it could lower Japan’s sovereign rating if the economy expands less than expected or if public debt continues to grow, as the country’s unpopular government struggles to win support for higher taxes. The ratings agency affirmed its AA- rating on Japan with a negative outlook, but also warned that higher taxes [...]