Betters tip Saga stock for strong rise after float May 12, 2014 INSURANCE and consumer services group Saga could be worth up to £2.92bn, well above the expected flotation valuation of £2bn to £2.5bn, according to trades on IG’s grey market in recent days. If the traders are correct, Saga will join other recent initial public offerings (IPO) including Royal Mail, Twitter and Boohoo where the share’s [...]
Shares in BSkyB drop by 2.4pc as European merger talks confirmed May 12, 2014 INVESTORS yesterday shunned Rupert Murdoch’s plans to create a new satellite TV giant in Europe, sending shares in BSkyB 2.4 per cent lower after the group confirmed it is in talks with 21st Century Fox to buy its stakes in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. The deal, which analysts say could be worth up to £8.8bn [...]
East votes to cut ties with Ukraine as EU gets tough May 12, 2014 TWO EASTERN regions of Ukraine have voted overwhelmingly to separate from the rest of the country, according to election results in the areas yesterday. Separatist movements in Donetsk and Luhansk claimed victory in elections to determine whether the two regions would self-rule, with 90 and 96 per cent of people respectively voting in favour, although [...]
Npower gets highest number of customer complaints again May 12, 2014 BIG SIX energy firm Npower once again topped the list of the most customer complaints compared to its peers, receiving ten times more complaints than SSE. The research by the Citizens Advice bureau showed that Npower received 306 complaints for every 100,000 customers between October and December 2013, while SSE got 31 complaints per 100,000.Three [...]
Average age of UK house buyer has fallen to 36 May 12, 2014 THE AVERAGE age of a home buyer dipped in April, falling as the housing market recovers and signalling that the onset of new mortgage rules is not having a major effect on sales. Across the UK, the typical home buyer is now 36 years old, according to research released today by Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB). [...]
Carney told to tackle property frenzy ahead of Bank’s report May 12, 2014 AS THE Bank of England prepares for tomorrow’s inflation report, economists are warning governor Mark Carney to get serious about London’s property market if he does not want to hike rates. The Bank is thought to want to delay discussion of rising rates, but analysts say Carney must control the housing market with the financial [...]
Housing crisis threatens City businesses May 12, 2014 THE HIGH cost of London housing is affecting competitiveness, according to a report from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Soaring house price increases have outstripped wage increases, and so make “living in London unaffordable for many, affecting both employees and employers”. Forty-two per cent of London businesses feel that their ability to [...]
CollectPlus plots growth plans to rival Post Office May 12, 2014 COLLECTPLUS launched a fresh assault on the Post Office today after announcing plans to expand its parcel returns and delivery service to 7,500 stores over the next 12 months. The company was launched in 2009 and has grown rapidly thanks to the boom in online shopping, click and collect, and consumers demanding more convenient ways [...]
Bottom Line: Murdoch is a force to be reckoned with May 12, 2014 LAST FRIDAY I sat down and watched a TV programme, on a terrestrial channel, at the scheduled time. It felt like an occasion. Like much of the population, such is the choice of media offered now that conventional TV viewing feels like the last resort; attractive only once the Netflix sub, iPlayer catch-up and YouTube [...]
Mining stocks lift the FTSE after JP Morgan upgrades the sector May 12, 2014 MINERS were given a boost yesterday, after JP Morgan upgraded its recommendation on the sector to overweight. The likes of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American topped the FTSE 100, after the bank said that there are “signs of a rebound in activity” in China, the world’s largest consumer of commodities, while the sector [...]
