British banks facing further disappointments on revenues March 15, 2010 UK banks will likely see more revenue disappointment before rebuilding their profitability, Seymour Pierce said yesterday, adding that consensus expectations for banking income growth were far too optimistic. The brokerage said it was on average 10 per cent below consensus revenue expectations for 2012 for the sector, with the greatest disappointment likely at Royal Bank [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 15, 2010 PROVIDENT FINANCIAL Collins Stewart has maintained its recommendation on Provident Financial at “sell”. It said that Provident Financial was trading at the bottom of the trading range and the impact of new consumer policies set out by the government may result in a reduced earnings forecast and may pose a threat to the dividend. Collins [...]
DTZ on target as hopes of a recovery rise March 15, 2010 PROPERTY broker DTZ Holdings yesterday said it remains on target to meet market expectations for its full year results, anticipating £70m of cost savings for the period. Boosting hopes of recovery in the sector, DTZ reported better levels of activity in its key markets of London and Paris and increased activity in the investment and [...]
Restaurant and pub sales bounce back March 15, 2010 Top pub and restaurant groups have seen like-for-like sales bounce back, following a dismal January. The 15 major companies participating in the The Coffer Peach Business Tracker, which include Costa Coffee group Whitbread, collectively saw like-for-like sales up 1.3 per cent against the same month last year. Total sales were ahead 3.0 per cent on [...]
A recovery this year doesn’t mean that the worst is over March 15, 2010 SLOWLY but surely, activity is creeping back to the moribund commercial property sector. British Land and Songbird have signed tenants at their landmark developments Drapers Gardens and the Ropemaker, while it’s only a matter of time before Minerva finds an occupant for the now-complete Walbrook. That’s good news for adviser DTZ, which advised on Macquarie’s [...]
New curbs on credit cards March 15, 2010 New rights secured for credit card users could save consumers almost £300m a year, it was yesterday claimed. The agreement between the government and the credit and store card companies is part of a package of measures to tackle debt. The industry will introduce the new changes this year. “These new rights will put an [...]
London house prices too high for first-timers March 15, 2010 LONDON continues to lead the fragile national housing market recovery with asking prices in the capital rising 0.3 per cent in March to stand at 8.7 per cent higher than they were a year ago. According to the house prices and affordability index from FindaProperty.com, the average London property is now on the market at [...]
Recession teaching kids to save March 15, 2010 Young children have been hard hit by the recession but have learned the importance of saving, new research from YouGov commissioned by HSBC and the Personal Finance Education Group. The report found 43 per cent of those children interviewed had heard adults say they cannot buy something because of the recession more than once a [...]
Stall in US production as Fed meets on rates March 15, 2010 US industrial production braked sharply in February, held back by severe winter storms that slammed parts of the country, while manufacturing activity in New York state stalled this month, figures showed yesterday. Analysts said the data did not alter their views that the factory-led economic recovery remained on track, given weather disruptions and the fact [...]
Risk of another GDP decline, warns the MPC’s Kate Barker March 15, 2010 Britain’s economy may contract again for one quarter, but is unlikely to return to recession, according to Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker. Barker said the harsh winter weather hit retail sales at the start of this year but that February’s business surveys had painted a more upbeat picture of the economy, in an interview [...]
