Quintain schemes make progress February 6, 2013 Quintain Estates said yesterday it was making good progress with its London schemes and in selling-off non-core assets, although markets outside London remain challenging. In an interim statement the developer said its near-term focus was achieving planning permission for its giant Greenwich Peninsula scheme and the opening of the London Designer Outlet at its Wembley [...]
Capita gets Carphone work February 6, 2013 Carphone Warehouse yesterday signed a £160m deal to outsource its customer services to Capita for the next ten years. Capita will be responsible for non-store customer contact such as helplines and tech support. Capita boss Paul Pindar said yesterday: “Capita’s significant experience in this area is evident through the work it does with the public [...]
UK house prices propped up by lending scheme February 6, 2013 THE HOUSING market has sprung back to life in recent months, Halifax said yesterday, while citing the UK government’s lending initiative. Prices dipped 0.2 per cent in January when compared to December, the company said. Yet a three-monthly measure of house prices – used to iron out month by month fluctuations – rose at its [...]
City A.M. shadow MPC votes 7-2 against more QE February 6, 2013 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “No change. There is no longer any lack of money supply, and the services sector purchasing managers’ index business survey suggests we may just about escape a triple-dip, if we are lucky. The real problem in the UK is that ultra-loose monetary policy is keeping zombie firms alive, slowing the [...]
Car sales rev up as registrations rise for the 11th month in a row February 6, 2013 THE UK’S resurgent car-buying market shows no sign of slipping down a gear in 2013, having recorded its 11th straight month of growth in January. New car registrations jumped 11.5 per cent last month compared to the same time a year earlier, with 143,643 vehicles registered. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which [...]
Euro outlook more hopeful February 6, 2013 THE ECONOMIC climate brightened across the Eurozone in the first quarter of 2013, according to data out yesterday. German think tank Ifo’s economic climate indicator for the bloc rocketed from 81.7 to 95.1, it said, reversing most of the losses seen since the second quarter of last year, when it stood at 100.3. But the [...]
QE expansion not expected February 6, 2013 THE rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) will sit on its hands today, according to analysts. Most analysts thought the outcome of February’s meeting would see the committee adopt a wait and see approach. “It looks highly unlikely that the quarter-on-quarter drop in GDP in the fourth quarter will prompt the Bank of England into further [...]
Germany and France clash over the threat posed by strong euro February 6, 2013 GERMANY said yesterday the strong euro was not a concern and signalled opposition to a French proposal for a mid-term target rate, exposing policy divisions over mainland Europe’s currency. The comments from Berlin, where most politicians are firmly opposed to currency intervention, precede talks later in the day between Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President [...]
Main market pension deficits explode despite bull markets February 6, 2013 THE deficits of FTSE 350 pension schemes expanded by £13bn more during January, despite soaring stock markets. Pension deficits totalled £75bn at the end of last month, according to data put out by Mercer yesterday, with assets adding up to only 88 per cent of liabilities. This was up from £62bn at the end of [...]
US mortgage requests jump February 6, 2013 US MORTGAGE applications climbed in the last week of January, despite increasing interest rates, data showed yesterday. Seasonally-adjusted loan application volumes increased 3.4 per cent in the week ending 1 February, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Unadjusted mortgage applications were some 16 per cent higher that week than during the same seven days a year [...]
