Estate agents: Help to Buy is boosting prices August 7, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT’S flagship scheme to stimulate the housing market is pushing up prices, estate agents warned yesterday, despite new Bank of England governor Mark Carney playing down the risk of a housing bubble. Homes in the Greater London area will shoot up by 6.9 per cent in value this year, according to Cluttons, while annualised [...]
Carney move sparks clash of opinions August 7, 2013 THE BUSINESS GROUPS JOHN CRIDLANDCONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY“This is a pro-growth statement with an important eye to inflation risks. Businesses will be buoyed by the support it should give to the economic recovery and be reassured by the built-in conditions around inflation and financial stability.” GRAEME LEACHINSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS“We are very concerned at the use [...]
Doubts raised over new Bank inflation test August 7, 2013 ONE OF the Bank of England’s new controls on price stability was thrown into question last night, due to the Bank’s rose-tinted forecasting record in recent years. The Bank said yesterday it could raise rates if it forecasts inflation above 2.5 per cent 18 months into the future – yet it has not predicted such a [...]
Euro deals strike bright note for Carlyle Group August 7, 2013 PRIVATE equity firm Carlyle Group yesterday said Europe offered better buyout opportunities than the United States, despite a recent drought of banking assets on the market. The Washington-based group, which has owned hundreds of companies globally, said negative sentiment towards the bloc made it an attractive investment. “A lot of people frankly hate Europe in [...]
Knight Capital hit by losses August 7, 2013 KCG HOLDINGS, the US company formed by the merger of algorithmic traders Knight Holdings and Getco, last night slumped to heavy losses due to merger costs. Knight, previously a top Wall Street company, was a high frequency trader that came close to collapse after an algorithm misfired in August 2012, leaving the company with a massive bill. [...]
Groupon offers buyback deal August 7, 2013 GROUPON, which specialises in a time-limited discounts on local services, last night announced that it would commence a $300m (£193m) share buyback programme as it struggles to reposition itself in the marketplace. It also appointed interim chief executive Eric Lefkofsky on a permanent basis after some success in refocusing its efforts on mobile sales. The firm’s [...]
JP Morgan in lending probe August 7, 2013 JP MORGAN Chase, the biggest US bank by assets, said yesterday it is being investigated by civil and criminal divisions of the US Department of Justice over offerings of mortgage-backed securities. The civil division gave the company a notice in May that it had preliminarily concluded that the firm violated federal securities laws in offerings [...]
AOL makes a play for television platform August 7, 2013 AOL yesterday revealed plans to buy Adap.tv, an electronic trading platform that helps companies advertise on video websites, for $405m in its biggest acquisition under chief executive Tim Armstrong. AOL, which is trying to rely less on its dial-up subscription service, also reported higher-than-expected revenue of $541.3m for the second quarter.
ING’s earnings beat forecasts August 7, 2013 DUTCH financial group ING yesterday beat second-quarter profit forecasts at its banking business and said it could announce more cost savings later this year as it continues to slim down in a drive to recover from the financial crisis. ING posted a 39 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit to €788m, hit by a [...]
Dexia narrows half-year loss August 7, 2013 NATIONALISED Franco-Belgian financial group Dexia yesterday posted a smaller net loss in the first half of 2013 than in the same period last year as its funding costs dipped. Dexia, about 95 per cent owned by France and Belgium, said it made a net loss of €905m (£779.2m) in the first half of 2013, against [...]
