House prices nudge up in June July 5, 2012 House prices rose unexpectedly in June, though the housing market is likely to hold broadly steady in the remainder of 2012, mortgage lender Halifax said on Thursday. Halifax said house prices rose by one per cent in June, confounding economists’ forecasts for a 0.2 percent decline. House prices in May rose by 0.4 percent, a [...]
GKN confirms £633m deal for Volvo Aero July 5, 2012 Engineering group GKN has agreed to buy the aerospace division of the world’s number two truck maker Volvo to boost the capacity and range of its engine component portfolio to meet booming demand. Confirming a Reuters report from Wednesday, GKN said it would pay £633m for the aero engine division, comprising £513m of equity value, [...]
Aviva to offload 16 units to save costs July 5, 2012 Insurer Aviva said it would sell or close 16 underperforming businesses as part of a strategic shake-up aimed at bolstering its finances and reinvigorating its flagging share price. The businesses earmarked for disposal include its South Korean arm and its British large-scale bulk purchase annuity unit, and contribute £300m to after-tax profit, Aviva said. The [...]
Entwhistle named as new BBC director general July 4, 2012 The BBC named George Entwistle, currently director of vision, as its new director general on Wednesday. Entwistle will take up his new role in August from outgoing director general Mark Thompson but at a lower salary – 450,000 pounds a year as opposed to Thompson’s 671,000. Entwistle beat his BBC colleague and the corporation’s chief [...]
Diamond: Traders’ actions were reprehensible July 4, 2012 Barclays former chief executive Bob Diamond has called the behaviour of those responsible for rigging the rates at which the bank said it was borrowing money “reprehensible”. Diamond, who resigned over the Libor scandal, said the traders responsible were not a true reflection of the bank’s culture. He was facing a grilling from MPs over [...]
Eurozone sales improve in May July 4, 2012 Shoppers in the Eurozone spent a little more freely in May, but not enough to make up for big falls in retail trade the month before and sales were down sharply on a yearly basis as households struggle through the bloc’s debt crisis. Sales at shops in the 17 countries sharing the euro rose 0.6 [...]
Mercedes sales growth slows July 4, 2012 June sales of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars grew at the slowest monthly rate so far this year as sales in the key market of China continued to increase at a tepid rate. Daimler (DAIGn.DE) said volumes of its premium brand rose 0.9 per cent in June, translating to a cumulative rise of 6.9 percent in the [...]
FTSE edges down as Libor crisis deepens July 4, 2012 The FTSE 100 edged down with trading subdued as the US was closed for business because of a public holiday. Investors remained glued to the crisis in the banking sector with former Barclays chief Bob Diamond, who quit over the bank’s rate fixing scandal, prepared to be grilled by MPs today. Meanwhile Britain’s service sector [...]
UK service sector weakens July 4, 2012 Britain’s dominant service sector grew at a much weaker pace than expected last month despite firms cutting prices and running down existing orders, a business survey showed on Wednesday. The latest round of gloomy data will solidify expectations the Bank of England will restart its printing presses and support the economy with another round of [...]
Carillion boosted by council work July 4, 2012 Support services and construction firm Carillion said its pipeline of potential work had grown to £35bn in the first half of 2012 as British local authority work and private finance projects in Canada increase. The group, which maintains railways and military bases and has a strong construction presence in Canada and the Middle East, said [...]
