Help to Buy not for second homes, says Osborne July 23, 2013 THE EXTENSION of the Help to Buy Scheme will be closed to second home buyers, the chancellor confirmed today. George Osborne met with lenders and housebuilders at Number 11 to discuss the second stage of the scheme, which enables people to buy new homes with just a five per cent deposit. In addition to the [...]
US bellwether UPS meets earnings estimates July 23, 2013 US delivery company the United Parcel Service has posted results for the second quarter with earnings meeting analyst estimates, making $1.13 a share, down from $1.15 a share last year. Total revenues were up 1.2 per cent to $13.51bn despite customers switching to slower and cheaper services for international routes. The firm is often seen [...]
Irish house prices see their first annual rise since January 2008 July 23, 2013 The battered Irish economy has seen large rises in house prices today, with a surge of 1.2 per cent in the month of June after growth of 0.3 per cent last month. This marks the first annual rise in Irish house prices since January 2008, with prices in Dublin increasing 4.2 per cent over the [...]
Spanish GDP shrinks less in second quarter July 23, 2013 SPAIN’S GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, an improvement from a 0.5 per cent downturn in the first quarter, according to data from the Bank of Spain today. The new figures showed that strong exports have boosted the struggling Eurozone economy, although not enough to bring it out of recession. The [...]
Premier Foods profits jump 50 per cent July 23, 2013 BRITISH food producer Premier Foods, which owns brands such as Hovis and Bisto, today reaped the rewards of its cost cutting strategy to report a 50 per cent increase in first-half trading profit. Profits rose to £47.4m over the period and full-year profit is expected to be around the top end of market expectations, the [...]
Spanish recession moderates as GDP shrinks by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter July 23, 2013 The Bank of Spain has announced that GDP shrunk by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, from a 0.5 per cent downturn in the first quarter. Strong exports drove he moderation of recession, adding 0.4 percentage points to GDP growth. The central bank now sees annual GDP growth of -1.8 per cent in the [...]
Lenders and housebuilders summoned for Help to Buy meeting July 23, 2013 CHANCELLOR George Osborne has summoned Britain’s housebuilders and mortgage lenders for a meeting today, to discuss the second phase of the Help to Buy Scheme. The scheme was first launched four months ago and allows people to buy new homes with just a five per cent deposit. The biggest lenders, including Lloyds, RBS, Nationwide and [...]
Netherlands woes hit Carpetright sales July 23, 2013 CARPETRIGHT today unveiled a 3.5 per cent decline in quarter sales, impacted by challenging trading conditions in the Netherlands. The carpet retailer said that like-for-like sales in the UK were down 1.9 per cent, while total sales declined by 10.9 per cent in mainland Europe. “Trading in our rest of Europe business continues to be [...]
Carpetright like-for-like sales drop 1.9 per cent in the first half as Netherlands remains tough July 23, 2013 Retailer Carpetright has seen like-for-like sales drop by 1.9 per cent in the first half of the year, with total sales in the UK down by 3.3 per cent (release). Like-for-like sales in the Rest of Europe (Netherlands, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland) decreased by 10.6%. Total sales declined by 10.9%. After the impact [...]
French business climate better in July with signs of cyclical improvement July 23, 2013 (Source: INSEE) New data shows that French business climate has improved from 93 to 95 in July, beating expectations of a rise to 94. The turning point indicator swings to the favorable area, indicating a cyclical improvement. While export order books decreased slightly, total order books improved. Nevertheless, global and export order books are still [...]
