OSBORNE’S DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS LOSE FRIENDS AT HOME AND ABROAD November 29, 2011 SEEING as its barely a month since French President Nicolas Sarkozy unceremoniously told David Cameron to “shut up” over the euro, Sarko’s finance minister Francois Baroin is unlikely to have taken kindly to chancellor George Osborne’s latest attack on the single currency yesterday. Going only very slightly off script in his Autumn Statement to parliament [...]
UK mortgage approvals are on the rise November 29, 2011 BRITISH mortgage approvals edged up more than expected to their highest in nearly two years last month, but the overall picture for lending remained well below pre-crisis levels and the outlook appears set to darken. The Bank of England said approvals for home loans – a gauge of house prices in six months’ time – [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 29, 2011 RANDGOLD RESOURCES Investec has upgraded the miner from “hold” to “buy” with a reduced target price of £73.32, down from £73.89. The broker has trimmed its forecasts after Randgold lowered its own outlook, but believes the recent share price fall presents a buying opportunity. Investec also thinks the recent problems at its mills are manageable [...]
Nationwide says house prices up November 29, 2011 House prices edged up in November, beating expectations despite a weak economy, but activity remains subdued and prices are more likely to dip in the next 12 months, Nationwide said yesterday. House prices rose 0.4 per cent from October on a seasonally adjusted basis, their third straight monthly increase. Prices were 1.6 per cent higher [...]
Slump in EC confidence levels November 29, 2011 Worries about the Eurozone’s debt crisis worsened in November and dragged the EC’s economic and consumer sentiment index to a two-year low. Business managers and consumers turned more pessimistic across almost all sectors of the Eurozone’s economy and the EC’s monthly economic sentiment index slipped to 93.7, its lowest since late 2009.
Spanish retail sales keep falling November 29, 2011 Spanish retail sales fell by seven per cent year-on-year on a calendar-adjusted basis in October, official data showed yesterday, after a revised fall of 5.6 per cent in September. The data from the National Statistics Institute marked the sixteenth month in a row of falling retail sales data.
Dip in Japanese household spend November 29, 2011 Japanese household spending fell 0.4 per cent in October from a year earlier, government data showed yesterday, in a sign worries about faltering global growth are weighing on consumption.
Thomas Cook takes hit but contagion avoided November 29, 2011 LAST week’s announcement by Thomas Cook that it was seeking an additional £100m in funding created headline news and caused its shares to drop by 75 per cent on the day of the announcement. The impact on the brand’s buzz in YouGov’s BrandIndex was immediate and the decline has continued all week. Having been at [...]
Impax upbeat despite gloom November 29, 2011 Environmental investment fund Impax Asset Management has increased annual revenue 36 per cent to £20.9m despite a “sharp deteroriation” in market sentiment. Funds under management rose four per cent to £1.9bn. Chief executive Ian Simm said the “fundamental drivers” behind Impax’s investment strategy had improved in 2011 although environmental sector stocks “underperformed”.
Hedgies down again in November November 29, 2011 Hedge funds slumped again this month despite hopes a host of Eurozone support deals will stabilise global markets. The average hedge fund fell 1.3 per cent, provisional figures for November show. The industry is down 7.7 per cent for the year to date, according to the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index. Hedge funds suffered in August [...]
