House prices in biggest monthly fall for two years March 29, 2012 House prices suffered their sharpest monthly fall in more than two years in March, as first-time homebuyers braced for the removal of stamp duty exemption, mortgage lender Nationwide said. Nationwide reported one per cent seasonally adjusted fall in house prices on the month, the biggest since February 2010, and a sharp contrast to the 0.3 [...]
Co-op deal for Lloyds branches in doubt March 29, 2012 The Co-Operative Group, whose bid to buy 632 retail bank branches from Lloyds has been hit by difficulties, said its offer remained non-binding, with many analysts speculating the deal could still fall apart. “Our current bid is non-binding and we would only proceed if we could reach an agreement that was in the interests of [...]
FTSE dented by miners March 28, 2012 The FTSE 100 was pegged back by miners in early trading as the index lost some of the momentum built up over recent weeks. Nagging doubts over the rate of growth that can be sustained in China continued to cast a shadow over the sector and the price of copper fell. Steelmaker Evraz warned over [...]
UK GDP revised down March 28, 2012 The UK’s economic growth for the last three months of 2011 has been revised down to a contraction of 0.3 per cent. The first two estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a contraction of 0.2 per cent. The ONS blamed the revision on the transport and communications [...]
Thomas Cook sees lift in UK bookings March 28, 2012 Thomas Cook said its performance in Britain had improved in recent weeks as a new advertising campaign and improvements to its website boosted bookings. The company, which secured a 200 million pounds ($319m) rescue package from its banks last November, said online bookings of mainstream holidays had seen a substantial uplift and were up 19 [...]
Dominos presses on with expansion plans March 28, 2012 Britain’s biggest pizza delivery firm Domino’s Pizza UK reported a rise in first quarter sales, helped by a recovery in Ireland, and said it was sticking with plans to open 72 new stores in 2012, including 12 in Germany. Domino’s, which operates the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, said on Wednesday [...]
Icap trading buoyed by commodities March 28, 2012 ICAP, the world’s largest interdealer broker, said it was trading in line with market expectations, with a strong performance at its commodities and energy arm helping offset tougher conditions on its credit markets side. “ICAP is on track for a robust performance for the year despite the demanding economic environment,” chief executive Michael Spencer said [...]
Lloyds of London reports £516m loss March 28, 2012 The Lloyd’s of London insurance market crashed to its second-biggest ever annual loss last year after absorbing claims from major natural catastrophes including Japan’s Tohoku earthquake and heavy floods in Thailand. Lloyd’s, which traces its origins back 324 years to a London coffee house where merchants insured ships, made a loss of £516m in 2011, [...]
EU lawmakers want tougher rules on banker bonuses March 27, 2012 Bankers’ bonuses should be capped at twice their basic pay and “golden hellos” handed back if performance disappoints, European Union lawmakers said. The bloc’s parliament and member states are approving a draft law to implement Basel III, global rules to toughen up bank capital and liquidity requirements from 2013 to plug regulatory gaps highlighted by [...]
Banks buoyed by Abu Dhabi move for RBS stake March 27, 2012 Banks fuelled FTSE 100 gains this morning after the sector was lifted by reports that Abu Dhabi was considering making a bid for RBS assets. Talks between Abu Dhabi and the British government over a stake in state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland are at the level of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, a source close [...]
