Mortgage approvals and consumer credit weak June 29, 2011 Mortgage approvals ticked up only slightly and consumer credit growth remained weak in May, Bank of England figures showed , highlighting the soft outlook for consumer spending ahead. The Bank said mortgage approvals numbered 45,940 in May, up from 45,447 in April. Analysts had forecast a reading of 46,100. The figures are likely to reinforce [...]
Service sector output in slump June 29, 2011 Service sector output suffered its biggest slump in over a year in April following the Royal Wedding and an extra public holiday that month, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics said that output contracted by 1.2 per cent in April after a 0.8 percent increase in March, driven by a sharp fall in [...]
Aegis in exclusive talks with Ipsos over Synovate sale June 29, 2011 Marketing company Aegis said that talks with French group Ipsos about the sale of its market research unit Synovate had moved to an exclusive basis. Aegis, which also has a media buying arm, revealed it was in discussions with Ipsos about the sale of the unit, which analysts value at about £500m, earlier this month. [...]
Betfair earnings better than expected June 29, 2011 Betfair, the world’s largest betting exchange, reported better-than-expected full year earnings on Wednesday reflecting strong demand for sports betting and growth of 24 per cent in football revenues. The company, which earlier this week announced it had begun the search for a new chief executive, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose [...]
Stagecoach boosted by move to public transport June 29, 2011 Bus and rail group Stagecoach reported a 27 per cent jump in full-year profit, helped by a shift to public transport as petrol prices keep drivers off the roads. The Scotland-based transport group announced a pre-tax profit of £205.7m on revenue 10 per cent higher at £2.38bn for the year to the end of April. [...]
One in six banks “to fail” EU stress tests June 28, 2011 Up to one in six European banks is set to fail an EU-wide financial health check, according to euro zone sources close to the stress-testing, as officials scramble to set up backstops for those at risk. The result, which the European Central Bank (ECB) and others hope will persuade investors that the EU is finally [...]
Banks and commodities lift FTSE June 28, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked gains in Asia and on Wall Street this morning as fears of an economic meltdown in Greece were eased with France moving to give the country a reprieve. Banking and commodity sectors saw a lift as new life was breathed into global markets. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his country’s banks [...]
Rolet confident TMX merger vote will succeed June 28, 2011 The London Stock Exchange will proceed as planned with this week’s vote on its takeover of Canadian group TMX and is confident shareholders will back the deal, chief executive Xavier Rolet said Tuesday. “Yes, absolutely,” Rolet told Reuters when asked if he was confident the deal will win shareholder backing Thursday. There was no reason [...]
House prices dip 0.4pc in May June 28, 2011 House prices in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in May, data from the official Land Registry showed. Average residential property prices were 2.2 per cent lower than a year ago at £161,823, the Land Registry said. The only region in England and Wales to buck the downward trend was London which saw [...]
UK economic growth confirmed at 0.5pc June 28, 2011 Britain’s economy grew by a disappointing 0.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, official data confirmed, after an unrevised contraction of 0.5 per cent in the final quarter of 2010. There was an upward revision to first-quarter construction output, but this was cancelled out by a downward revision to manufacturing. Household [...]
