Londoners expect further rent hikes over the next 12 months September 11, 2012 THE NEXT year will herald yet further rent hikes for Londoners – or so they believe – according to the Rightmove forecast out today. Sixty-six per cent in the city expect to pay more in 12 months, compared to 59 per cent for the country as a whole. This move would come as another blow [...]
New ICAP figures point to an improving joblessness picture September 11, 2012 THE UNEMPLOYMENT picture was improving in August, said brokerage ICAP yesterday, as the number of applicants per vacancy dropped, but the data suggested that the employment situation might nevertheless be worsening. ICAP’s unemployment index, which measures the number of applicants per job, decreased three per cent in August. But this came largely from a large [...]
Kantar reports healthy growth in grocery sales September 11, 2012 GROCERS have continued to expand through 2012, Kantar Worldpanel revealed yesterday, with growth at the very top and bottom driving pace in the market. Total sales by grocers were £23.5bn in the 12 weeks to 2 September, up from £22.7bn in the same period last year, growth of 3.3 per cent. All of the big [...]
America’s trade gap widens September 11, 2012 ■ The US trade deficit widened marginally in July, as exports and imports both shrank in the gloomy worldwide economic climate, federal government departments revealed yesterday. The deficit inched wider to $42bn (£26bn), up from $41.9bn in June, the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a joint data release. This [...]
Small firms want regulation cuts September 11, 2012 ■ The government must extend the national insurance holiday for small firms, in order to fight unemployment, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) argued yesterday. The lobby group found that some 88 per cent of new private sector jobs taken by the previously unemployed, since the onset of recession, were created in small business. But [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs September 11, 2012 Arbuthnot Latham The private bank has appointed Liz Bottomley to the role of head of private banking. She most recently worked for Coutts, where she was senior manager and client partner in its international private banking division. Bottomley has over 25 years’ experience in the industry, and takes up her position with immediate effect. Old [...]
BEST of the BROKERS September 11, 2012 IG GROUP James Hamilton at Numis has changed his IG Group recommendation from “Add” to “Buy” after the firm reported better-than-expected revenues. The betting group benefits from volatile trading conditions and Hamilton says the market struggles to “appreciate that low volatility for IG is like a negative market movement for an asset manager”. Predicting volatility will [...]
FTSE treads water but miners drop after ominous statistics from China September 11, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index pared early losses to end flat yesterday, with uncertainty regarding the outcome of a German court ruling on the Eurozone’s bailout fund and the US Federal Reserve’s likely stimulus plans prompting investors to avoid strong bets. However, analysts said sentiment was improving following some positive steps taken by policymakers in Europe [...]
Dow Jones hits five-year high in light trading September 11, 2012 THE DOW Jones Industrial Average closed at the highest level in nearly five years yesterday in a lightly traded session before key decisions in Germany and the United States that could give markets a further boost. Energy, industrial and financial firms led the advance. Contributing to gains by the Dow, shares of IBM rose 1.15 [...]
Cable is wrong on state aid rules and his plan for a business bank September 11, 2012 ONE of the best aspects of the EU is that under the so-called “state aid rules” member states are forbidden from subsidising businesses through grants, tax breaks and soft loans. State aid invariably distorts competition and trade: protecting businesses from foreign competition, or propping up failing businesses, whose failure would create space for value-generating alternatives. [...]
