Private equity house Endless leads turnaround at Vasanta October 6, 2011 VASANTA, the office supplies business propped up by private equity in the aftermath of the financial crisis, has narrowed its annual losses. The firm, which survived in July 2009 after Endless injected £30m of new equity alongside the company’s bank group, reported an operating loss of £1m for 2010, down 64 per cent from £2.8m [...]
Slow start to third quarter for services October 6, 2011 SERVICE sector output edged higher in July, marking a tepid start to the third quarter, official data showed yesterday. Small rises were recorded in business services, finance and government activity. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said service sector output rose by 0.2 per cent in July after a 0.3 per cent contraction in June. [...]
Falling car registrations offset by high fleet sales October 6, 2011 NEW private car registrations plummeted by 9.3 per cent in September, compared to the same time last year. “The outlook for car manufacturers looks increasingly worrying with the economy struggling markedly, and consumer and business confidence low,” commented economist Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight. Overall, however, the figures exceeded expectations, with a surge in [...]
German industrial orders drop October 6, 2011 German industrial orders fell unexpectedly in August on a decline in domestic demand, data from the economy ministry showed yesterday, adding to signs of a slowdown in Europe’s largest economy. Seasonally- and price-adjusted order intake sank 1.4 per cent on the month, driven by a 3.2 per cent drop in domestic orders. The mid-range forecast [...]
Dutch inflation climbs again October 6, 2011 Stubborn inflation in the Netherlands rose again last month, according to figures released yesterday. The country’s consumer price index increased to 2.7 per cent annualised, above expectations. The rate of CPI inflation had held at 2.6 per cent in August.
Franc cap sees SNB reserves rise October 6, 2011 Foreign exchange reserves held by the Swiss National Bank rose by 29bn Swiss francs (£20.4bn) in September, the month it began defending a currency cap on the soaring franc, though it said money market injections accounted for most of the rise. Reserves rose to 282.35bn Swiss francs, according to the SNB figures released yesterday. The [...]
House prices decline again in September October 6, 2011 VOLATILITY continued in the housing market, with September’s price falls reversing gains seen in June and July, the Halifax index revealed yesterday. Prices are down 0.5 per cent compared with August and 2.3 per cent over the last 12 months, the seasonally adjusted figures show. The rate of decline has slowed from its peak of [...]
Fixed mortgages sink to their cheapest rates for 45 months October 6, 2011 MORTGAGE rates on high loan-to-value deals have sunk to their lowest point since January 2008. Loans worth 90 per cent of the value of the acquired property are available at an average of 5.39 per cent on a fixed two year rate, the website Moneyfacts has claimed. The average rate has tumbled from 6.05 per [...]
Halfords hit by soaring price of fuel October 6, 2011 A SURGE in petrol prices has further dented sales at Halfords as cash-strapped drivers are forced off the road. The retailer said like-for-like sales fell 2.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to 30 September, compounding a 1.1 per cent drop in the previous three months. Sales of car maintenance products were down 3.3 per [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS HALFORDS ON THE RIGHT PATH? October 6, 2011 NICK BUBB | ARDEN PARTNERS It is disappointing to see profits under-shooting at the Autocentre business, but we are holding our full-year group profit before tax forecast at £99m, after a solid quarter two in the core business. Having expected to have to downgrade again, we are relieved by today’s news and so, despite the [...]
