Recession looms as investors cut back March 6, 2012 HOUSEHOLD spending, investment and exports all fell in the final quarter of 2011, official statistics confirmed yesterday, prompting fears the Eurozone will suffer months of slow growth or even recession. The broad based decline in activity dragged GDP down 0.3 per cent in the last three months of the year, compared with expansion of 0.3 [...]
Italian debt yields rise as ECB cash injection wears off March 6, 2012 WEAK economic data cooled investors’ demand for Italian and Spanish debt yesterday, reversing some of the gains seen after last week’s huge cash injection from the European Central Bank. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Holland, Austria and the UK all successfully sold debt, showing investor sentiment remains stronger than at the end of 2011. [...]
Sarkozy promises to crack down on corporate tax as he trails in the polls March 6, 2012 FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday that if re-elected he would propose a minimum tax on the profits of big listed companies, which could raise €2bn to €3bn (£1.67bn to £2.5bn) in a year to go towards cutting the public deficit. As the latest poll showed Sarkozy trailing further behind Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande, [...]
IIF warns of €1 trillion risk if Greece defaults March 6, 2012 A DISORDERLY Greek default would cause more than €1 trillion (£833bn) of damage to the Eurozone and could leave Italy and Spain dependent on outside help to stop contagion spreading, the main bondholders’ group has said. “There are some very important and damaging ramifications that would result from a disorderly default,” the IIF said in [...]
PORTUGUESE PM: WE WON’T FORCE HAIRCUTS March 6, 2012 PORTUGAL will pay its debts and will not follow Greece in forcing haircuts on investors, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said yesterday. He told Bloomberg TV the country has “showed to all European partners its commitment to reach the targets” in fiscal and economic reforms. Picture: GETTY
High hopes for UK at Hines and CBRE March 6, 2012 HINES’ new UK managing director said there were “trillions” waiting to be invested into London in the years to come, highlighting that the city remained one of the most attractive global cities to invest in amid the turmoil in the Eurozone. Ross Blair (pictured) told City A.M. at the Mipim conference in Cannes yesterday that the [...]
Green rules could make it impossible to rent some flats March 6, 2012 THE BRITISH Property Federation has called on the government to provide more clarity on the minimum energy standards that will be required by commercial and residential landlords beyond 2018 under new legislation. Changes being brought by the Energy Act 2011 will mean that hundreds of thousands of UK properties with the least energy efficiency – [...]
Real estate firms look to alternative finance as banks pull out of sector March 6, 2012 THE ARRIVAL of senior debt funds could provide welcome new sources of liquidity in the European property market as the banks continue to reduce their exposure to real estate lending, new research shows. Cushman & Wakefield’s latest European real estate lending survey found that just 36 out of the 78 leading global real estate finance [...]
Ulster Bank set for €1bn sale of property assets March 6, 2012 ULSTER Bank, the troubled Irish business unit of Royal Bank of Scotland, is readying itself to sell off assets worth €1bn (£833m) according to a source close to the situation. This could see Ulster Bank competing against the state-run National Asset Management Association (NAMA) in trying to offload property portfolios in Ireland. Ulster Bank, which [...]
ROYAL MAIL TO DEVELOP BATTERSEA DEPOT March 6, 2012 THE ROYAL Mail has won planning permission from Wandsworth Council to redevelop its South London mail centre next to Battersea Power Station into a residential scheme. The 13-acre development includes 1,800 homes, a primary school and retail and public space. Royal Mail will also invest around £50m in the extension of the Northern line and [...]
