Lloyds will be hit by fall in house prices June 1, 2011 LLOYDS would be the hardest hit of the UK banks by an expected decline in house prices over the next two years, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. A note released yesterday by researchers at the bank painted a more pessimistic view of the housing market than analysts had previously predicted, with a 10 per [...]
Landlords bullish on the future of rental properties June 1, 2011 DESPITE the downbeat outlook on house prices from analysts at Morgan Stanley (see left), UK landlords are increasingly optimistic about their buy-to-let prospects. Forty-nine per cent of landlords think that now is a good time to invest in new properties, according to research by LSL Property Services. Just one per cent are looking at reducing [...]
WOULD YOU CONSIDER BUYING A PROPERTY TO LET? June 1, 2011 HENRY YORKE | MARKETFORM “No I wouldn’t. It’s always going to be a risk buying rather than renting. Demand will be there but if it’s not high enough it could be very hard to cover the cost of the mortgage.” MICHELLE BOYD | CATLIN “Yes. It is the right time to buy now and the [...]
Coca-Cola considers a listing in Shanghai June 1, 2011 COCA-COLA, the world’s largest soft-drink company, said yesterday it is holding talks with the Chinese government over a possible listing in Shanghai, joining other global firms in testing the waters for a listing in China. Coca-Cola has said it will commit $2bn (£1.22bn) of investment into China and last October opened three new plants in [...]
Spain mulls action over cucumbers June 1, 2011 THE SPANISH government said yesterday it was considering legal action against the authorities in Hamburg for wrongly blaming its cucumbers as the source of an E. coli outbreak, which has led to the deaths of 17 people. “We do not rule out taking action against the authorities who called into question the quality of our [...]
LONDONERS WARNED OF GAMES DISRUPTION June 1, 2011 LONDON workers were yesterday urged to rethink their travel plans during the 2012 Olympics to help avoid overcrowding on the transport network. Transport secretary Philip Hammond (pictured above right with London mayor Boris Johnson) said he could not promise transport would not be disrupted during the Games and said people should consider working from home, [...]
Wolseley quiet on asset sales June 1, 2011 THE world’s biggest building supplies company Wolseley yesterday kept investors guessing about the future of underperforming parts of the business as it reported strong profit growth driven by its US activities. Chief financial officer John Martin said UK builder’s merchant Build Centre was still under review along with other parts of the business and played [...]
Northumbrian posts jump in profit after review of prices June 1, 2011 NORTHUMBRIAN Water yesterday reported a higher annual pre-tax profit, helped by an increase in water and sewerage charges and steady demand from its customers. Pre-tax profit rose six per cent to £181m in the year to the end of March, slightly above estimates of £177.6m. Sales were up five per cent at £738.1m, in line [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS WOLSELEY HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? June 1, 2011 TONY SHEPARD | CHARLES STANLEY “The group is finishing the year on a strong note and it is still undergoing a transformation. There was no comment from the company on further disposals. Longer-term, there should be opportunities to improve the group profit margin. Our recommendation remains “accumulate”.” ADRIAN KEARSEY | EVOLUTION SECURITIES “Welcome news on [...]
RAMSAY COOKS UP A PROFIT June 1, 2011 GORDON Ramsay shrugged off the acrimonious sacking of his father-in-law Chris Hutcheson last October to post an overall return to profit for his companies yesterday. Cost cuts and the sale of Boxwood Cafe pushed pre-tax profit at Gordon Ramsay Holdings to £2.05m in the year to August 2010, from £0.57m in 2009, although sales fell [...]
