Carney: No rate hike to cool house prices May 14, 2014 INTEREST rates will not be hiked to slow London’s housing boom, Mark Carney said yesterday, arguing there are limits to the Bank of England’s powers when the crisis is caused by a crippling shortage of home building. Instead, Carney said he could make it more expensive for banks to give out mortgages, taking some of [...]
Pfizer boss woos fund managers in Astrazeneca battle May 14, 2014 THE BOSS of the American drug giant hoping to snap up UK rival Astrazeneca will go on a whirlwind tour of City shareholders today to discover how much it will have to pay to buy the British company. Ian Read, who yesterday faced a second grilling from MPs in Parliament, will sound out a dozen [...]
Real wages finally lifting while unemployment drops further May 14, 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT dived again as the British economy continued to surge ahead in the three months to March, official figures showed yesterday. Joblessness fell to 6.8 per cent, down from 7.2 per cent in the previous three month period – meaning 133,000 fewer people were out of work. Employment hit another record high of 30.43m, up [...]
The Bank of England is playing with fire by keeping rates so low May 14, 2014 INTEREST rates won’t be going up any time soon, even though the economy is now booming. The reason is simple: the Bank of England is deadly serious about using other tools to calm down the housing market if it feels that it is overheating; interest rates, or at least the Bank base rate, are now [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 15 May 2014 May 14, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Sanctions put squeeze on Russia Russian companies are facing tougher lending restrictions from western banks as sanctions against the country start to bite. Banks are insisting that new loans to Russian businesses that are not directly targeted by sanctions carry clauses forcing immediate repayment or default if sanctions affect those companies. “If someone [...]
ITV’s shrinking audience share scares investors May 14, 2014 BROADCASTER ITV saw its audience share fall to 21.6 per cent from 23.4 per cent a year ago during the first four months of the year, but chief executive Adam Crozier said a stronger line up of shows, including the start of the World Cup finals in June, would help it recover lost viewers. ITV’s [...]
Card Factory narrows price to 225p as it goes to market May 14, 2014 UK GREETING card company Card Factory narrowed the price of shares to the bottom end of guidance at 225p last night, ahead of its initial public offering this morning, City A.M understands. The company, which has been selling cards and gift wrapping on the UK high-street for 10 years, has an equity value of £767m [...]
Analyst Views: What do you think of ITV’s first quarter performance? May 14, 2014 RODDY DAVIDSON | WESTHOUSE SECURITIESWe are pleased by the positive momentum and robust outlook comments within this morning’s update and plan to raise our estimates to reflect a more bullish outlook for advertising spend/the impact of last week’s acquisition of US content producer Leftfield Entertainment. STEVE LIECHTI | INVESTECITV’s first quarter looks OK with the [...]
I’m not bluffing over currency, Osborne warns May 14, 2014 THE CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday repeated his warning that an independent Scotland would not be allowed to keep the British pound, telling a select committee that he was not bluffing and his position was “no ifs, no buts”. The chancellor also accused Scottish nationalists of being irresponsible when it comes to spending plans for the [...]
Record level of exporters look to take on new staff as sales rise May 14, 2014 A RECORD number of exporters are looking to hire new staff as demand and confidence grow to record highs, a new survey out today reveals. Research from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and logistics company DHL Express shows that 40 per cent of exporters said they are looking to hire more workers, the highest [...]
