THE LONDON REPORT July 5, 2009 OUSEBUILDERS will come under scrutiny this week, with giants Persimmon and Barratt Developments set to update markets. Traders will be hoping for further signs that there is an an uptick in mortgage availability, as banks repair their balance sheets and are able to resume lending to homebuyers, feeding through to the battered sector. Barratt, set [...]
MARTIN ON THE MARKETS July 5, 2009 AFTER Friday’s non-session, as the US Independence Day holiday suppressed volumes, get ready for a pivotal week set to be dominated by one thing: US earnings. Stock markets have rallied of late on the back of hopes that we’ll see a bounce in profits, and this week investors will start to see those hopes look [...]
Rural homes near London see price rise July 5, 2009 PRIME country properties around London saw prices rising by 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 after five consecutive quarters of falls, according to the Knight Frank/ City A.M. prime commuter property price index. For the UK as a whole, the average value of prime country property fell by 0.9 per cent over [...]
Glass heads race to be the new finance director at RBS July 5, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) is considering the appointment of Simon Glass to replace Guy Whittaker as finance director. Glass, who joined RBS as deputy finance director three months ago from Standard Chartered, is believed to be heading the race to succeed Whittaker, who will part company with the 70 per cent state-owned bank before [...]
FULL HOUSE FOR CENTRE POINT July 4, 2009 Centre Point, the iconic London office tower has finally become fully occupied for the first time in its 40 year history after controversially spending the first 15 years of its life empty in a bid to reduce tax payments. Owner Targetfellow has now secured its last leasing to Onalytica, which is owned by the original [...]
Sea The Stars set to Eclipse his rivals July 2, 2009 I’VE spent a lot of time this week trying to find a horse to beat SEA THE STARS in the Coral Eclipse and I finally have to admit defeat. There is often a danger of trying to be too clever in your search for reasons to oppose a horse who looks unbeatable on paper. I [...]
the INSIDER July 2, 2009 SEA THE STARS is top of my ‘back until beaten’ list and I will be backing John Oxx’s stable star tomorrow. A case can be made for both Rip Van Winkle and Conduit but the evidence isn’t that strong and they are simply playing for places. On the rest of the Sandown card there are [...]
Hot Rodd can make it a nervous wait for Murray July 2, 2009 ANDY MURRAYWIMBLEDON SEMI-FINAL 1ANDY RODDICK TODAY BBC1WIMBLEDON fever is at its highest for years as Andy Murray bids to become the first British finalist since Bunny Austin in 1938. At 1/4 Murray is a huge favourite, and looking at the head-to-head record it’s not hard to see why as he leads Andy Roddick 6-2 on [...]
LIONS THIRD TEST PREVIEW July 2, 2009 THE FURORE surrounding South Africa coach Peter De Villiers’ defence of the Schalk Burger eye-gouging incident has ensured that anticipation for tomorrow’s ‘dead-rubber’ is still high. Many thought that the chips would be down in the Lions camp after Morne Steyn clinched the series with a remarkable last-gasp penalty on Saturday, but the tourists will [...]
Depp does the time but the film’s a crime July 2, 2009 FilmPUBLIC ENEMIESCert: 15 AFTER all the Terminators, Transformers, gory horror flicks and kids’ cartoons, it should be refreshing to sit down for a blockbuster that’s actually aimed at adults. Michael Mann, director of films such as Ali and Heat, has crafted a handsome-looking crime epic about the famous Thirties bank robber John Dillinger, with plenty [...]