House prices up 1.2pc in October November 7, 2011 UK house prices edged up by 1.2 per cent in October compared with September, but have fallen over the last year, according to the Halifax. The lender said that values had fallen by 1.8 per cent compared with a year ago. It said that the housing market had remained “highly resilient” despite weakness and a [...]
Markets hit by Eurozone contagion fears November 7, 2011 Banks were the weakest link on the FTSE 100 this morning as the move towards a coalition government in Greece failed to impress wary investors. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who attempted to call a referendum on a crucial European Union bailout plan, will stand down when the new government takes over. Eurozone ministers meet [...]
TUI forecasts 25pc sales rise November 7, 2011 Hotelbeds, the accommodation wholesaler owned by Europe’s biggest tour operator TUI Travel said it expected sales to rise by 25 percent this year and planned to ramp up its expansion in the Americas and Asia. The business, which sells accommodation at over 45,000 hotels in 147 countries to airlines and travel firms, reported total transaction [...]
Taylor Wimpey reports steady autumn November 7, 2011 Homebuilder Taylor Wimpey said trading in the busy Autumn selling period had been stable and it is on track to meet margin targets. The UK’s second-largest volume housebuilder by market value said its current order book for future completions stood at 6,265 homes, against 5,496 homes at the same point last year. The group is [...]
Ryanair lifts profit forecast by 10pc November 7, 2011 Ryanair increased its 2011 profit forecast by 10 per cent, saying higher revenues per passenger mile would offset stubbornly high fuel prices. Europe’s largest budget airline, which released first-half results, said it had seen virtually no impact from the downturn in consumer confidence, but warned traffic would fall in the coming months as it grounded [...]
Greek PM agrees to fall on sword November 6, 2011 THE unfurling Greek tragedy claimed its biggest scalp yet last night as Prime Minister George Papandreou finally agreed to stand down. A new government of national unity will now be formed, with Papandreou yielding control when the deal is finalised. The decision followed crisis talks last night with conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras and President [...]
Fear stokes search for jobs in City November 6, 2011 CITY workers are staking out new job opportunities as the threat of redundancy lingers over the financial sector. Despite fewer vacancies becoming available, the number of professionals entering the jobs market spiked in October, according to two separate surveys released this morning. Morgan McKinley reported a nine per cent rise in the number of people [...]
BP’s £4bn Pan Am deal fails November 6, 2011 BP’S long-awaited deal to sell a majority stake in Argentina’s second-largest oil producer Pan American Energy for $7bn (£4bn) collapsed in acrimony yesterday after the buyer walked away. Bridas, the oil and gas firm owned by Cnooc of China and Argentina’s Bulgheroni family, said BP was to blame for the collapse of the deal because [...]
Time to think about euro’s break-up November 6, 2011 IT is finally all over for George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister. Barring yet another u-turn, he will step down and a so-called national unity government will be created with the help of opposition leader Antonis Samaras. It’s not as if the two men are strangers: astonishingly, they were roommates at Amherst College in the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES GREEK BANKS ISSUE €6.4BN IN BONDS Three of Greece’s biggest banks have issued €6.4bn of government-guaranteed bonds likely to be used as security to obtain financing from central banks, a move that points to worsening market conditions amid talk of a disorderly Greek default. Alpha Bank, EFG and Piraeus on Friday issued the [...]
