British banks losing ground in world league July 1, 2012 BRITISH and European banks are rapidly losing ground to rising Chinese giants, according to a major new report out today, with relatively low capital levels and profits, and the highest losses in the world. In the last year UK banks’ profits fell 8.2 per cent, lending dropped 3.12 per cent and capital fell 1.71 per [...]
New Eurozone credit crunch as coming recession hits lending July 1, 2012 THE FAILURE of short-term quick fixes to rescue the Eurozone’s broken banks means lending levels will be slashed and balance sheets will shrink at a faster rate even than in the financial crisis, a report from Ernst and Young warns today. The looming recession means non-performing loans will mount to record highs in 2013, while [...]
House prices slump further as demand slips outside London July 1, 2012 THE WEAK outlook in the housing market was reinforced by research published by Hometrack today, which points to stagnant prices and fewer buyers entering the market. Prices in June were completely flat compared to May, leaving then 0.5 per cent down on the year. Compared to May, there were 0.5 per cent fewer new buyers [...]
Steel and cement firms hit by slowdown in home-building July 1, 2012 HEAVY industry is suffering in the recession, as light industry goes from strength to strength, according to survey data released by the Construction Products Association (CPA) today. On balance 45 per cent of heavy side firms, which produce products like cement and steel, reported that sales slid in the second quarter of 2012 compared to [...]
Motorists keep old cars in bad economic times July 1, 2012 THE RECESSION has impacted motorists heavily, with slower growth in the number of cars on the road and an increased average car age, according to research out today. Parc, a measure of the prevalence of cars on the road, rocketed up 17 per cent in the decade to 2001, but only nine per cent in [...]
Business bosses to explain why young Londoners can’t get work July 1, 2012 BUSINESS leaders will this week tell an inquiry why they think young Londoners struggle to compete with migrant workers in the jobs market. Bosses including Starbucks UK head Kris Engskov, The Berkeley’s chef patron Marcus Wareing and charity leader Eddie Stride will appear before the inquiry, set up by Mayor of London Boris Johnson. Travelodge [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 1, 2012 Ogier The legal and fiduciary services group has appointed Aaron Le Cornu as group chief operating officer. Le Cornu joined Ogier in 2009 as group finance director, having spent the previous 10 years at HSBC. Additionally, Jamie Bore has been promoted to group financial director. He joined Ogier in 2009, and previously worked at IFG [...]
BEST of the BROKERS July 1, 2012 BMW UBS has upgraded the car firm from “neutral” to “buy” with an unchanged 12-month target price of €75. The broker has trimmed its earnings per share forecast for the year by five per cent, due to weakening markets. However, it thinks the firm is protected from some of the slump thanks to its exposure [...]
LONDON REPORT July 1, 2012 ALL eyes this week will be on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which is on Thursday expected to inject another £50bn into the British economy. The decision is likely to be influenced by last week’s news that the double-dip recession is deeper than first thought. The Office for National Statistics said the [...]
WALL ST THE WEEK AHEAD July 1, 2012 US stocks finished the first half of the year with a bang as investors welcomed news that the Eurozone is a step closer to solving its 30-month-long debt crisis. Now for the question: Is this rally strong enough to last for more than a day? The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their best daily [...]
