Nationwide mortgage lending jumps by 44pc May 23, 2012 Nationwide, Britain’s biggest customer-owned financial services group, reported a 44 per cent increase in loans to home buyers in its last fiscal year, including a sharp rise in the number of mortgages provided to first-time home buyers. Gross residential mortgage lending rose to £18.4bn in the year to 4 April, up from £12.8bn the year [...]
Burberry profit jumps by a quarter May 23, 2012 British luxury brand Burberry posted a 26 per cent jump in profit as expected and said it would invest up to £200m in new outlets and expanding existing stores in London, Chicago and Hong Kong. The 156-year-old seller of raincoats and leather goods, known for its camel, red and black check pattern, said on Wednesday [...]
Free money for governments is a grave threat to investors May 23, 2012 IF you want proof that the global economy’s woes are increasing, as a result of extreme imbalances, look no further than some countries’ borrowing costs. Germany has set a zero per cent coupon on its 2-year government bonds (or Schatz) due to be sold today – in other words, borrowers will not be paid for [...]
Fraud office set to drop key case May 22, 2012 ANTI-FRAUD investigators could be forced to drop a long-running probe into property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz after admitting they have made a series of mistakes. The Serious Fraud Office said it is “urgently” reviewing Tchenguiz’s status as a suspect after he was arrested in an inquiry into the collapse of Iceland’s Kaupthing Bank. Yesterday Tchenguiz’s barrister [...]
Deficit row as IMF calls for growth May 22, 2012 THE IMF heaped praise on George Osborne’s deficit reduction plans yesterday, but warned that the coalition might have to change tack if the economy worsens much further. IMF boss Christine Lagarde expressed delight at the austerity measures, saying “when I think back to May 2010, when the UK deficit was at 11 per cent and [...]
Higher public spending pushes up UK borrowing May 22, 2012 GOVERNMENT borrowing jumped in April as spending increased unexpectedly, official figures showed yesterday, although the takeover of the Royal Mail pension fund’s assets skewed the data in the month. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) officially recorded a budget surplus of £16.5bn in April, compared with a deficit of £16.9bn in March and £9.06bn in [...]
Free money for governments is a grave threat to investors May 22, 2012 IF you want proof that the global economy’s woes are increasing, as a result of extreme imbalances, look no further than some countries’ borrowing costs. Germany has set a zero per cent coupon on its 2-year government bonds (or Schatz) due to be sold today – in other words, borrowers will not be paid for [...]
OECD warns of Eurozone risk to world economy May 22, 2012 THE EUROZONE crisis remains the single biggest threat to the global economic recovery, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said yesterday. “The crisis in the Eurozone remains the single biggest downside risk facing the global outlook,” said OECD economist Pier Carlo Padoan. “Adjustments in the euro area are now taking place in an [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Trafigura to move to Singapore Singapore has enticed Trafigura, one of the world’s biggest commodities trading houses, to move its legal headquarters from Switzerland to the Asian city state, highlighting the attractions of its low-tax regime and proximity to China. Trafigura’s relocation is a big boost for Singapore as it challenges the supremacy [...]
Facebook loses friends as stock drops further May 22, 2012 FACEBOOK shares tumbled again yesterday on the third day of trading as more investors turned their backs on the website’s inflated price. Falling 4.3 per cent in pre-market trading, the stock slid further in the day to close down 8.9 per cent at $31. The social networking giant has now shed $19bn from its initial [...]
