RENT December 15, 2011 HEAD OF RENTALS AYLESFORD INTERNATIONAL Q. I’m a homeowner with a property in central London – despite the fact that this area isn’t directly affected by the Olympics, I am keen to capitalise from the influx of tourists coming to London in the summer, but where do I start? A. Many homeowners across London are [...]
Ritchie’s Sherlock is vapid fun, but Cumberbatch fails to save Wreckers December 15, 2011 FILM SHERLOCK: GAME OF SHADOWS CERT: 12A The second Guy Ritchie reworking of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic series is bigger, louder and infectiously entertaining, if a little elementary. Exhilaratingly sharp, sweeping visuals pack a punch and Robert Downey Jnr throws everything he’s got into carrying the Holmes-does-1890s-Bond juggernaut. But is isn’t quite enough to conceal [...]
WHAT’S ON THIS WEEKEND? December 15, 2011 FILM SECRET CINEMA London’s worst-kept secret is back as of this week. As ever, the location and movie to be screened are hush-hush but there seems to be a military theme. Limited tickets available. BOOZE THE SKY LODGE This weekend is your last chance to check out the Alpine themed pop-up bar nestled under the [...]
Spanish borrowing costs fall December 15, 2011 Spain saw solid demand for medium- and long-term bonds paying over two percentage points less to issue a 5-year bond than Italy this week, as Madrid’s cost cutting helped ease concerns it was the euro zone’s weakest link. But while the Treasury also paid much less to sell two 10-year bonds than a similar issue [...]
UK factory orders drop December 15, 2011 Factory orders suffered their biggest drop in more than a year in December after a further weakening of export prospects due to the euro zone debt crisis, the CBI’s industrial trends survey showed on Thursday. The Confederation of British Industry survey’s total order book balance fell this month to –23 from -19 in November, the [...]
Retail sales fall 0.4pc in November December 15, 2011 Retail sales fell by 0.4 per cent in November from October, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics The fall is slightly more than the 0.3 per cent monthly drop that economist had forecast and comes amid big discounting by High Street stores Excluding fuel, retail sales fell 0.7 per cent on the [...]
German manufacturing slows for third month December 15, 2011 German manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in December and looked unlikely to provide a lift to Europe’s largest economy soon as new orders continued to dry up, a survey showed. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector by Markit showed a slight improvement, edging up to 48.1 from 47.9 in November, but [...]
Sports Direct to hit profit forecast December 15, 2011 Sports Direct, Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer, posted a two per cent rise in first-half profit and said it was on track to meet its target for the year. The firm, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said it was confident of reaching its full year target for underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation [...]
Old Mutual to sell Nordic unit for £2bn December 15, 2011 Insurer Old Mutual is planning to sell its Nordic business to Skandia Liv for 22.5bn Swedish crowns (£2.1bn), to cut debt and return surplus capital from the deal to shareholders. The businesses being sold comprise Old Mutual’s long-term savings and banking operations in Denmark, Norway and Sweden operating under the Skandia brand. “The sale of [...]
COMEBACK KID December 14, 2011 THE EXHAUSTED boss of Lloyds Banking Group is to jump back in the saddle of the beleaguered lender after doctors said he made a “full recovery”, chairman Sir Win Bischoff has announced. The bank also said that it has entered exclusive talks with the Co-operative Group over the sale of 632 branches, leaving rival bidder [...]
