More credit for small UK businesses but housing market slump continues January 6, 2011 BANKS are increasing their lending to small businesses and expect to raise the availability of credit in the coming months, a Bank of England report revealed yesterday. Yet demand for mortgages is low and expected to keep falling, according to the credit conditions survey. And fears over falling house prices are preventing some lenders from [...]
SMALL BUSINESS AND START-UP NEWS January 6, 2011 SMES BURDENED WITH VAT ADMIN TASKS Small and medium sized businesses (SME) spend up to one day a week on financial admin tasks such as VAT returns, monthly accounts and tax issues according to findings from Regus research. This has been exacerbated by the introduction of further employment laws and the three VAT changes that [...]
Business sentiment boost for Eurozone driven by Germany January 6, 2011 CONFIDENCE in the Eurozone economy shot up to a 38-month high in December, official figures revealed yesterday. The European Commission’s economic sentiment index rose from November’s 105.1 to record 106.2 last month – its highest level since October 2007. The results were driven by strong increases in industrial and retail confidence, a relief for European [...]
US jobless claims edge upwards January 6, 2011 New US jobless claims rose to 409,000 last week, up 18,000 on an upwardly adjusted figure of 391,000. However, the underlying trend in unemployment remains downward, as the four week moving average fell 410,750, the lowest level recorded since late July 2008. The decline comes on the back of a surge in private sector jobs [...]
UK wage settlements hit 2.2pc January 6, 2011 Wage settlements in Britain hit their highest level in nearly two years at the end of 2010 but remained below inflation, a survey revealed yesterday. The median wage rise climbed to 2.2 per cent in the three months to November, compared to two per cent for most of last year, and the highest since the [...]
Dutch inflation hits 21-month high January 6, 2011 Dutch consumer price inflation rose to 1.9 per cent last month from 1.6 per cent recorded in November, the Central Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. That was the highest rate since March 2009. According to the statistical office the increase in inflation was mainly due to higher prices of motor fuels.
History, elegance and luxurious style overlooking Regent’s Park January 6, 2011 IF – as Kirtsy and Phil are always telling us – the three most important things in a property are location, location and location, then there can be few better than Cornwall Terrace, overlooking Regent’s Park. It’s a short chauffeur-driven hop from the Ritz, the Houses of Parliament and Harley Street. This Grade I-listed crescent [...]
Maybank in $1.4bn move for Kim Eng January 6, 2011 MAYBANK, Malaysia’s largest lender by assets, is snapping up Singapore broker Kim Eng Holdings for $1.4bn (£893m), in a move to strengthen its grip on the regional stockbroking industry and diversify the lender’s source of overseas revenue. Maybank will pay 3.10 Singaporean dollars per share for a 44.6 per cent stake in the broker, before [...]
Xinmao abandons Draka bid January 6, 2011 CHINA’s Xinmao Group dropped its €1bn (£645m) bid for Dutch cablemaker Draka yesterday, leaving Italy’s Prysmian free to seal a lower-priced deal and form an industry leader. Xinmao’s attempt to enter the fibre optic cable market by buying an overseas company had been seen as a test of the ability of Chinese companies to complete [...]
PROPERTY NEWS January 6, 2011 WHERE TO BUY IN 2011 Predictions for the property market may be uncertain, but independent homefinders network County Homesearch has named the areas it expects to be bucking the trend for sliding prices. These include perennial favourites like Alderley Edge in Cheshire, Exeter in Devon and East Hampshire, but it also names places such as [...]
