Phoenix IT chief and auditors out the door as a sale looms October 4, 2012 PHOENIX IT Group yesterday announced a surprise departure of its chief executive, in a move that was seen as paving the way for a sale of the firm. David Courtley stepped down to make way for the firm’s chairman, IT veteran Peter Bertram, while auditors Deloitte were also sacked after “irregularities” over the company’s accounts [...]
Mobile paying firm in tie-up October 4, 2012 MOBILE payment firm Monitise inked a tie-up with US consultancy Cognizant yesterday, opening the door for its software to be integrated with bank systems. The deal is expected to hasten the rise of mobile payments in banking, which Monitise chief Alastair Lukies called “the channel of the future”.
Old Lady holds fire on policy as QE continues October 4, 2012 THE BANK of England’s rate-setting committee decided yesterday to hold off on new policy measures in October, with the Bank making the last of the £50bn purchases announced in July over the month. Analysts across the board had described the decision as a “non-event”, expecting, correctly, that the Bank would “sit on its hands”, and [...]
Halifax data points to house prices stuck in the doldrums October 4, 2012 HOUSE PRICES slipped in September, according to data released by Halifax yesterday, adding to the evidence suggesting a weak housing market. The average UK house price slipped 0.4 per cent during September to £159,586, the Halifax house price index showed, with analysts putting the decline down to poor fundamentals. “The generally weak economic climate remains [...]
Consumer spending expands at the fastest rate since 2009 October 4, 2012 YEARLY consumer spending growth returned in September, according to data that Visa collects from use of its cards. Spending jumped at its fastest rate since May 2009, growing three per cent between August and September. And this upturn, after August’s 1.2 per cent monthly growth, pushed consumption into positive territory for the year as a [...]
UK profits creep down October 4, 2012 UK COMPANIES made slightly smaller returns in the second quarter of the year, data from the Office for National Statistics showed yesterday. Private non-financial corporations had a net rate of return of 12.7 per cent between April and June, down from 12.9 per cent between January and March, the statistics showed. The decline came from [...]
Was the bank of England right to hold rates? October 4, 2012 CRAIG HARRINGTON JP MORGAN “I think rates should be set as low as possible. Anything that tries to stimulate growth and get us moving is a good thing.” GAVIN CLARKE FINANCIAL SERVICES CONSULTANT “The last thing we want to do is encourage more borrowing, but a raise may stifle growth. We’ve got to invest in [...]
Food prices back on the rise October 4, 2012 Food prices increased in September, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), part of the United Nations, released yesterday. World prices were up 1.4 per cent compared to August, the FAO’s index, which follows a basket of internationally traded goods, showed. But the index is still well below its peak in February [...]
Finance training helps families October 4, 2012 Providing financial education to badly off households could have benefits worth £36m, according to a study whose results were released by Santander, Citizens Advice and the University of Bristol today. Seventy-eight per cent of study participants changed their spending behaviour after receiving financial training, delivering on average £10 per week to each family.
Pace of arrears growth slows October 4, 2012 The number of tenants in severe arrears continued to grow in the third quarter, data from Templeton LPA revealed today, but at a reduced rate. Compared to the second quarter, 1.6 per cent more tenants were deep in arrears in the third quarter, well down on the 4.6 per cent quarterly increase between the first [...]
