US pending home sales suffer biggest monthly fall this year August 28, 2013 US pending home sales fell by more than expected in July, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The pending home sales index fell by 1.3 per cent from the month before to 109.5 – the biggest fall this year. This follows a 0.4 per cent drop in the month to June. [...]
UK National Security Council unanimous on Syria ahead of Cameron’s UN meeting August 28, 2013 The UK National Security Council has unanimously agreed that the use of chemical weapons by Syrian president Bashar al-Asasad was “unacceptable”, UK prime minister David Cameron has said. Members of the UK NSC include defence secretary Philip Hammond, home secretary Theresa May, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, and other military and intelligence heads. The meeting, [...]
HCA responds to competition watchdog’s calls to sell off hospitals August 28, 2013 Private healthcare provider HCA International has responded to this morning’s report from the Competition Commission concluding that the UK's private healthcare sector is suffering from too little competition, saying it is “disappointed that the quality of clinical care and investment in innovation seems to have been ignored”. The Commission identified 101 hospitals facing little local [...]
Cyprus preparing for all eventualities on Syria August 28, 2013 Cyprus’ foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides has said the country is preparing for “all eventualities” with regards to the tensions brewing in Syria. On Tuesday, he denied speculation that British airbases on the island – in particular, RAF Akroti on the southern tip – could play a major role in any military strike against Syria. [...]
US mortgage applications continue to fall August 28, 2013 Mortgage applications in the US fell by 2.5 per cent last week from the week before, according to survey data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). This follows a 4.6 per cent fall the week before. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased by 12 basis points to 4.8 per cent in [...]
US rules out unilateral action on Syria August 28, 2013 known to be trigger-happy A US official has ruled out unilateral military action against Syria, according to Agence France-Presse. If correct, this would confirm speculation that the US will not want to launch a military strike against Bashar al-Assad’s regime without the backing of its allies. Earlier today, the United Nations special envoy to Syria [...]
UN special envoy to Syria confirms use of “some kind of substance” in attacks August 28, 2013 Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy to Syria, has confirmed that "some kind of substance” was used in an attack on 21 August resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. Brahimi told reporters "it does seem like some kind of substance was used" in the alleged poison gas attack near Damascus last week. [...]
Businesses warn retail recovery isn’t sustainable as sales growth hits nine month high August 28, 2013 UK retail sales grew at the fastest annual pace in nine months in the year to August, while employment in the sector grew by the most in 11 years, according to survey data from the Confederation of British Industry. Nearly half (49 per cent) of retailers responding to the Distributive Trades Survey for August said [...]
Paddy Power shares fall despite profit growth August 28, 2013 Online betting company Paddy Power has reported a 12 per cent increase in pre-tax profits and basic earnings per share for the first half of the year (release). Pre-tax profits rose to €77.0m (£66.4m) from €68.7m in the same period the year before. Basic earnings per share increased to €1.394 from €1.240. However, investors ditched [...]
Greek finance minister thinks economy will grow by more than forecast this year August 28, 2013 Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras has said he believes Greece is seeing some positive economic developments, and that estimates for 2013 gross domestic product may be beaten. Current EU/IMF expectations are for output to contract by 0.6 per cent this year and grow by 0.9 per cent in 2014.