Car sales rise by annual 9.3 per cent in July August 6, 2012 Car sales showed their strongest annual increase in two years, rising by 9.3 per cent to 143,884 vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said today. Car sales so far this year are 3.5 per cent up on last year’s level, showing resilience in the face of recession, and the SMMT said it [...]
Peregrine CEO asset hunt reveals few luxuries August 6, 2012 The hunt for the assets of Peregrine Financial Group CEO Russell Wasendorf Sr. has yielded a backyard pool, 2,000 bottles of wine, pickup trucks and some high-end photography equipment. But a receiver appointed for Wasendorf’s assets in the firm’s bankruptcy says that so far there is little to suggest that the CEO, who in July [...]
Insurer Catlin back in profit as catastrophes ease August 6, 2012 Bermuda-based insurer Catlin swung back to profit in the first six months of 2012, helped by a sharp drop in natural catastrophe-related claims relative to last year. Catlin, operator of the biggest syndicate in the Lloyd’s of London market, made a pretax profit of $231m (£148m) in the six months to 30 June, compared with [...]
House prices fall 0.6 per cent in July August 6, 2012 British house prices fell by 0.6 per cent in July, mortgage lender Halifax said today, a marginally bigger fall than economists had forecast but one that leaves the pattern of broadly stable prices intact. House prices in the three months to July are 0.6 per cent down on a year earlier, in line with forecasts [...]
Knight in for $400 million lifeline after trading debacle August 6, 2012 Knight Capital Group looks set to enter into a $400m (£256m) financing deal with a group of investors, allowing the trading firm to open its doors today after a crippling $440 million loss. But it will come at a steep cost to shareholders, sources familiar with the situation said. Such a deal would help Knight [...]
ECB’s Coeure calls for more targeted liquidity operations August 6, 2012 The European Central Bank should consider ways to ensure that the cash it lays out in its liquidity operations reaches smaller firms and consumers, executive board member Benoit Coeure said today. Coeure told Slovakian newspaper Hospodarske Noviny in an interview that the ECB would not allow sovereign bond yields to rise due to investors betting [...]
SIGNS OF LIFE AFTER SHOPPERS RETURN August 5, 2012 LONDON’S retailers were handed a welcome boost over the weekend as shoppers flocked back to stores, though figures released today show Britain’s high streets have seen their worst monthly sales in almost a year. Footfall picked up in the second half of last week and over the weekend, with the capital’s retailers reporting a leap [...]
Monti insists Italy will not need cash from Germany August 5, 2012 ITALY needs moral support from Germany but not its cash, Prime Minister Mario Monti said in an interview published yesterday as German conservatives renewed calls for Greece to leave the Eurozone. The Italian leader also told weekly magazine Der Spiegel that he was concerned about growing anti-euro, anti-German and anti-European Union sentiment in the parliament [...]
London must become a global tourist magnet August 5, 2012 EXTRAORDINARY. That was the only way to describe the atmosphere at the Olympic stadium this weekend. Team GB’s astonishing triumph has enthused the nation – it has become virtually impossible to walk anywhere in London without spotting someone sporting a Union Jack – and Usain Bolt’s spectacular 100m Olympic record last night was a magical [...]
Greece agrees new cuts as troika leaves August 5, 2012 GREECE has made some progress in finding budget cuts needed to continue its bailout programme but not all work is done and international inspectors will return next month for a final verdict, officials said yesterday. Inspectors from the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank – known as the troika – [...]
