Alexander demands deeper cuts August 9, 2010 DANNY Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has written to cabinet ministers to demand deeper cuts to departmental budgets. The Treasury’s axe man sent the letter amid escalating tensions over the biggest public spending cuts in Britain’s peacetime history. An aide to Alexander confirmed he had sent the letter, but insisted it was part [...]
Freddie Mac asks for a fresh $1.8bn bailout as makes fourth loss in a row August 9, 2010 MORTGAGE lending giant Freddie Mac is seeking $1.8bn (£1.1bn) in aid from the US Government after bad home loans prompted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss. Freddie Mac, the second largest provider of funding for US residential mortgages, said it lost $6bn, or $1.85 per share, in the April-to-June period. The company is required to pay [...]
Southern Cross says it will miss profit forecast August 9, 2010 SHARES in Southern Cross Health Care fell sharply yesterday after the care-home operator says it will miss analyst earnings forecasts for the year as public sector spending is scaled back. Shares fell 2.4 per cent in the first half-hour of trading, but pared losses to close one per cent down at 31.25p. The stock has [...]
BT says sports package has a good take-up August 9, 2010 FIRST blood was drawn by Manchester United against bitter rivals Chelsea in the new football season last weekend. But a battle of equally epic proportions is heating up off the pitch, with BT claiming its new sports package, which is significantly undercutting Sky, is building momentum. BT Vision chief executive Marc Watson told City A.M. [...]
Sky has already seen off challenges from rivals Setanta and ITV Digital August 9, 2010 BT SAYS its sports offering is the first step in an aggressive expansion into pay-TV it hopes will eat away at Sky’s dominance of the market (at last count Sky was tantalisingly close to 10m subscribers, while BT is languishing with less than 500,000). But BT would do well to bear in mind the cautionary [...]
Office demand drives Morgan Sindall profit August 9, 2010 CONSTRUCTION group Morgan Sindall said growing demand for office space was helping to offset the impact of government spending cuts, although the construction recession was not over yet. “The commercial side is growing, but let’s not over exaggerate – it’s growing a bit but not as quickly as governments are spending less,” said executive chairman [...]
Quintain JV sells offices at Pier Walk August 9, 2010 REAL estate investor Quintain has sold its Pier Walk development near Canary Wharf to DekaBank, Germany’s largest open-ended fund manager, for £97.1m. Quintain, which owned the seven-story building at Greenwich Peninsula in a joint venture with Bovis Lend Lease, said the sale represents a six per cent uplift on the property’s valuation in March and [...]
Connaught shares continue to fall as fears of a debt-for-equity swap build August 9, 2010 SHARES in embattled housing maintenance firm Connaught tanked again yesterday, as investors reacted to last week’s warning of “material losses” and talk of a debt-for-equity swap. The stock closed down 29 per cent at 11p, after hitting a low of just 9.2p earlier in the day. The 52-week high for Connaught shares stands at 448.3p. [...]
Lack of funding poses threat to building work August 9, 2010 THE OUTLOOK for UK commercial development activity over the next three months turned negative for the first time since July 2009, hit by a lack of funding and concern over public sector demand, a report published yesterday found. Developers surveyed last month feel most pessimistic about new building activity for offices, followed by retail and [...]
THE CITY’S GOT TALENT: THE HUNKIEST GENTS IN FINANCE August 9, 2010 ANTHONY ASTBURY, GFI GROUP Environmental markets broker Anthony takes the crown in the second annual round-up of the City’s hunkiest gents, voted for by your good selves and judged by a panel of terribly dedicated City A.M.ers. A keen sportsman, who boxes, skis and plays football when he’s not jetting around Europe meeting clients, Anthony [...]
