ECONOMIST VIEWS: HOW BAD IS THE PUBLIC SECTOR DEBT? November 18, 2010 ALAN CLARKE | BNP PARIBAS Borrowing is still on track to undershoot the latest emergency budget target. Nonetheless, the deterioration in recent months is a disappointment and may reflect slower growth. GEORGE BUCKLEY | DEUTSCHE BANK Deficit levels are still high but should come down next year as fiscal tightening steps up a gear. But [...]
Twenty per cent off property in paradise November 18, 2010 IT FEELS wrong to be delighted by the financial crisis, doesn’t it? But if you were reclining on a sun-lounger in 30°C heat with a sparkling ocean stretching out in front of you, it would be difficult not to. Especially if you had managed to buy a Caribbean dream home on the cheap. The numbers [...]
Mortgage lending slumps November 18, 2010 Gross mortgage lending last month was the lowest October total since 2000, according to figures released yesterday. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimated that lending was down nine per cent, from £13.6bn in October 2009 to £12.4bn last month. The figures coincided with fresh Bank of England data on the level of mortgage lending by [...]
Car production boosts industry November 18, 2010 Over a million cars have rolled out of British factories this year, according to figures released yesterday – and most of the vehicles are being exported. Production of new cars grew six per cent in October, while production is up 30.4 per cent so far this year. Earlier this week the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association [...]
FUN AND FROLICS AS CITY’S FINEST GATHER AT FINSBURY’S PARTY November 18, 2010 Complete with ceiling lights, a steady flow of champagne and a path of candle-filled lanterns guiding our path, the Tate Britain was last night decked out for one of the biggest City shindigs of the year last night. The annual party of Roland Rudd’s Finsbury PR made its triumphant return to the cosy environs of [...]
Investing your love in bricks and mortar November 18, 2010 1 BUDGET Before you start the fun stuff – househunting – make sure you have covered the boring stuff: finances. Work out how much you can afford to put towards mortgage repayments each month, based on your joint net income, and joint outgoings. If, like Kate and William, you are thoroughly modern and are already [...]
Treger triggers £2bn bid November 18, 2010 JULIAN Treger, the well known shareholder activist, has triggered the sale of the Aim market’s largest company Western Coal by agreeing to sell a 23.5 per cent stake in it to Walter Energy, the US coal company. Treger, who came off the board of Western Coal last month, owned the stake through one of his [...]
Two linked in Madoff case November 18, 2010 TWO members of imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff’s inner circle were arrested on charges of helping to conceal the largest financial fraud in history, US prosecutors said yesterday. The indictments of former employees Jo Ann “Jodi” Crupi, 49, and Annette Bongiorno, 62, brings to eight the number of people criminally charged since the December 2008 revelation [...]
Yoplait owners reject £1.2bn Lactalis bid November 18, 2010 THE owners of French yoghurt maker Yoplait rejected a €1.4bn (£1.19bn) unsolicited bid from Europe’s largest dairy group, Lactalis yesterday, saying it was too low and would force out a major shareholder. Unlisted Yoplait, which competes with food giant Danone, has been in the spotlight since the summer when private equity fund PAI Partners said [...]
Capita says cuts will hit its revenues November 18, 2010 CAPITA yesterday said revenues would be hit harder by government spending cuts than it previously expected, casting a shadow over predictions that robust support services firms stand to gain from the era of austerity. Since the coalition was formed in May, many large support services firms such as Capita and rival Serco have sounded bullish [...]
