Twitter most popular among African American internet users June 1, 2011 TWITTER has increased its reach in the US by five per cent of internet users in six months, according to data released by the Pew Research Centre. The site is now used by 13 per cent of Americans who are online, versus eight per cent in November last year. The gap between usage among whites and [...]
Cameron drawn into the Southern Cross furore June 1, 2011 THE Prime Minister’s spokesman said yesterday the government would ensure that elderly residents of Southern Cross care homes were properly looked after should the embattled company collapse. Southern Cross believes it can win support from enough of its landlords to stay in business after it decided to withhold some rental payments. The heavily-indebted company, which [...]
What do you think should be done about rising inflation in the UK? June 1, 2011 THIS week we’re asking members of our readers’ panel, recruited in association with PoliticsHome.com, to have their say on inflation in the UK. To tell us your views on when the MPC should raise interest rates, how damaging you think above-target inflation has been to the UK economy and more, apply to join the panel [...]
Lloyds will be hit by fall in house prices June 1, 2011 LLOYDS would be the hardest hit of the UK banks by an expected decline in house prices over the next two years, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. A note released yesterday by researchers at the bank painted a more pessimistic view of the housing market than analysts had previously predicted, with a 10 per [...]
Landlords bullish on the future of rental properties June 1, 2011 DESPITE the downbeat outlook on house prices from analysts at Morgan Stanley (see left), UK landlords are increasingly optimistic about their buy-to-let prospects. Forty-nine per cent of landlords think that now is a good time to invest in new properties, according to research by LSL Property Services. Just one per cent are looking at reducing [...]
WOULD YOU CONSIDER BUYING A PROPERTY TO LET? June 1, 2011 HENRY YORKE | MARKETFORM “No I wouldn’t. It’s always going to be a risk buying rather than renting. Demand will be there but if it’s not high enough it could be very hard to cover the cost of the mortgage.” MICHELLE BOYD | CATLIN “Yes. It is the right time to buy now and the [...]
Coca-Cola considers a listing in Shanghai June 1, 2011 COCA-COLA, the world’s largest soft-drink company, said yesterday it is holding talks with the Chinese government over a possible listing in Shanghai, joining other global firms in testing the waters for a listing in China. Coca-Cola has said it will commit $2bn (£1.22bn) of investment into China and last October opened three new plants in [...]
Spain mulls action over cucumbers June 1, 2011 THE SPANISH government said yesterday it was considering legal action against the authorities in Hamburg for wrongly blaming its cucumbers as the source of an E. coli outbreak, which has led to the deaths of 17 people. “We do not rule out taking action against the authorities who called into question the quality of our [...]
LONDONERS WARNED OF GAMES DISRUPTION June 1, 2011 LONDON workers were yesterday urged to rethink their travel plans during the 2012 Olympics to help avoid overcrowding on the transport network. Transport secretary Philip Hammond (pictured above right with London mayor Boris Johnson) said he could not promise transport would not be disrupted during the Games and said people should consider working from home, [...]
Wolseley quiet on asset sales June 1, 2011 THE world’s biggest building supplies company Wolseley yesterday kept investors guessing about the future of underperforming parts of the business as it reported strong profit growth driven by its US activities. Chief financial officer John Martin said UK builder’s merchant Build Centre was still under review along with other parts of the business and played [...]
