Retail closures starting to slow September 24, 2013 MORE British shops closed than opened in the first half of this year although the net fall in store numbers was 78 per cent smaller than in the first six months of 2012, according to research from consultants PwC and the Local Data Company (LDC). The results of their study of 500 town centres showed [...]
Mortgage deals strike a four year high in August September 24, 2013 THE SURGING housing market has pushed mortgage lending to a four-year peak, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), while lending to businesses remains anaemic. The BBA said that last month its members approved 38,228 mortgages, an increase of just over 25 per cent from the same month last year, highlighting the recent boost to activity [...]
German firms point to an improving economy September 24, 2013 A MAJOR index of business optimism in Germany revealed confidence among firms again in September, for the fifth month. The Ifo business climate index, announced yesterday, came in at 107.7, marginally above August’s recording. A score over 100 indicates firms are seeing growth. Expectations from the future also rose, up to 104.2. Companies’ forecasts for their [...]
Lloyds believes shake-up gives it lowest costs September 24, 2013 LLOYDS’ cost of equity should soon be the lowest in the industry, chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio claimed in a speech yesterday. He argued the bank’s cost-cutting and its new focus on the UK mean it is set to become among the most efficient in the sector. It came as the bank announced the sale [...]
RBS pins hopes of turnaround to profits on rising interest rates September 24, 2013 RISING interest rates would quickly make RBS billions of pounds, the bank’s finance chief revealed yesterday, raising hopes that the economic recovery will boost the taxpayer-backed lender. If rates are hiked one percentage point, incomes would rise £450m in the first year, £640m in the second and £860m in the third. And a gradual rise of [...]
British banks accused in US of mis-selling September 24, 2013 BARCLAYS and RBS are among nine banks accused of misrepresenting mortgage-backed securities worth hundreds of millions of dollars sold to US credit unions in 2006 and 2007, court papers filed yesterday show. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) claims five credit unions collapsed because they purchased faulty securities, and the investment banks underwriting or selling [...]
BlackBerry’s still ripe for Monitise September 24, 2013 SOME would think it inauspicious to launch a new product less than 24 hours after the struggling platform on which it depends is sold for a rock-bottom price. But not the mobile payments firm Monitise, which proclaimed on the regulatory news service (RNS) yesterday that its peer-to-peer money transfer service is expanding its wares on [...]
Publisher fights man and dog September 24, 2013 BIZARRE scenes at Labour’s annual conference in Brighton, as Iain Dale – LBC radio host and political publisher – fought a man called Stuart (and his dog called Stuart) over an anti-nuclear protest on breakfast TV. Dale is responsible for the memoirs of ex-Labour spin doctor Damian McBride. But when his client appeared on ITV [...]
Panmure looks east to net new broking clients September 24, 2013 PANMURE Gordon hopes its ties to the Middle East will help it win new business, as the stockbroker rides the rise in equity market activity. Chief executive Phillip Wale said he hopes to “strengthen and leverage” the relationship with QInvest, the Qatari investment bank that has been Panmure’s biggest investor since 2009. “There are companies [...]
Paul Tucker warns Bank of England over inflation threat September 24, 2013 KEEPING interest rates ultra-low for too long and printing too much money could lead to higher inflation and needs to be carefully watched, Paul Tucker warned yesterday. The outgoing deputy governor of the Bank of England said that low and stable inflation expectations are valuable and should be protected. “Credibility is not to be taken [...]
