First dip in net mortgage lending since counting began, say banks June 27, 2012 NET MORTGAGE lending fell in May for the first time since the British Banking Association (BBA) began measuring the figure in 1997, the financial sector industry group said yesterday. With capital repayments outpacing stable gross lending, net mortgage lending dipped by £73m from April. And mortgage approvals fell 3.4 per cent in the year to [...]
Positive US housing and factory data provides boost to equities June 27, 2012 BETTER than expected American economic data pushed up stocks on major world markets yesterday. Contracts to purchase previously-owned US homes rose 5.9 per cent in May, matching the two-year high seen in March, fueling optimism that the hitherto housing market is beginning to recover. Data showing better-than-expected demand for long-lasting US manufactured goods in May [...]
Jubilee helped lift retail sales, survey shows June 27, 2012 HIGH STREET sales shot up in the year to June as a boost from the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations confounded the Eurozone crisis, according to a CBI survey published yesterday. Some 58 per cent of retailers reported increased sales volumes, as opposed to just 17 per cent stating reductions. In previous surveys retailers had only expected [...]
Slow planning decisions thwart growth, small firms complain June 27, 2012 BRITAIN’S “costly and complex” planning system is stifling small firms and stunting economic growth, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said yesterday. Nearly seven in 10 (69 per cent) of small businesses are forced to wait longer than the intended maximum of eight weeks for local authorities to decide on most planning applications, the FSB [...]
Real wages stagnant despite steady private sector pay rises June 27, 2012 PRIVATE sector nominal wages grew steadily over the last few months, according to research published today by Incomes Data Services (IDS). The median pay deal in the three months to May 2012 was three per cent in the private sector, but just 2.5 per cent in the economy overall, as some pay freezes in the [...]
Chicago dove Evans urges the Fed to fire up the printing press June 27, 2012 SENIOR Federal Reserve official Charles Evans, one of the US central bank’s strongest advocates for further monetary policy easing, said yesterday he is flummoxed by the Fed’s timidity in the face of high unemployment and relatively low inflation. At its policy-setting meeting last week, Fed officials sharply slashed their GDP forecasts for 2012 and 2013 [...]
New subsidies for young workers June 27, 2012 Firms that take on young workers in 20 areas with high levels of unemployment will receive improved wage subsidies, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced yesterday. Employers who take on 18-24 year olds classed as ‘long-term unemployed’ from these regions will now receive £2,275 per person after six months while in the rest of the [...]
Norwegian strike lifts oil prices June 27, 2012 An oil workers’ strike in Norway, the world’s eighth largest oil exporter, has propped up Brent crude, pushing the price to nearly $94 a barrel in yesterday’s trading. The labour minister, Hanne Bjurstroem, yesterday said that the government was far from intervening in the dispute. The government has the authority to step in to force [...]
Brazil unveils stimulus measures June 27, 2012 Brazil unveiled a new round of stimulus measures yesterday, pledging to boost government purchases and lower subsidised lending rates for companies in another bid to revive its economy. It is hoped the new measures, which call for government purchases to rise by 6.6bn reais this year, will shield Brazil from the global economic slowdown.
Yule Catto hit by weakening demand in Asia June 27, 2012 BRITISH chemicals maker Yule Catto saw its share price plunge yesterday after it announced that it expects its business to be hurt by a volatile euro and weakening demand in Asia. Yule Catto shares plummeted by 21.4 per cent making them one of the biggest percentage losers on the London Stock Exchange. The news undermines [...]
