Mortgage lending sees strongest quarter since 2008 January 21, 2014 (Laura Lean/City A.M.) Gross mortgage lending totalled an estimated £17bn in December, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. That's on par with November's total, yet 49 per cent greater than the level seen in December 2012 of £11.4bn. Council of Mortgage Lenders chief economist Bob Pannell says that level was "stronger than [...]
SocGen cuts Apple to “hold” on iPhone 5s sales fears January 21, 2014 France's second biggest bank is falling out of love with tech giant Apple. Societe Generale have cut their rating for the company's shares from "buy" to "hold" – their preferred stock in the communications equipment sector is Ericsson. While the worldwide handset had a good 2014 – equity analyst Andy Perkins said it remained strong [...]
Sir Howard Davies promises to rise above Boris Johnson’s “vulgar abuse” over London airport analysis January 20, 2014 Sir Howard Davies plans to "rise above this vulgar abuse" from Boris Johnson as he works to pick a site for a new runway or airport. "I completely dismiss what the mayor has said about our report. It’s completely at variance with anyone else … As far as the mayor's concerned we don’t seem to [...]
Mayfair’s billionaire hedge fund bosses are procrastinators just like the rest of us January 20, 2014 Call it procrastination, call it the post-Christmas pile of paper work, but most hedge funds and private equity groups still haven’t submitted their application to operate under new EU regulations coming into force this year, research shows. With less than six months to go until the new laws come into force, over 80 per cent [...]
Why doesn’t UK growth reflect red hot business surveys? January 20, 2014 While several surveys are roaring higher, the strength implied by these indicators isn't apparent in official data. Deutsche Bank's chief UK economist, George Buckley, has looked into the problem ahead of the latest GDP figures, due on the 28 Janaury. Analysts expect fourth quarter GDP to come in slightly lower than the previous two quarters [...]
Smaller energy firms reap the rewards as switching soars January 20, 2014 The number of energy customers looking for cheaper deals soared at the end of last year, with around one million people switching energy suppliers over November and December. In contrast, around 208,000 people switched in September and 3m switched over the entire year, according to research from data company Electralink. 230,000 of those switching in [...]
How Nintendo’s ancient business model is killing it, in 1 chart January 20, 2014 Nintendo’s share price plummeted 19 per cent this morning in Tokyo before finally recovering to close 6.1 per cent lower – the stock's biggest fall since September. The drop was in reaction to a profit warning on Friday which highlighted Nintendo’s core failure to get ahead of the changing market of smartphones and [...]
The pain in Spain falls – but for how long? January 20, 2014 Spanish bond yields continue to fall, plunging this morning to levels last seen in 2006, years before the crisis that dramatically increased the costs of borrowing for many riskier European governments. (Tradeweb) The yield on a 10-year Spanish bond dropped to below 3.7 per cent this morning, down from four per cent at the end [...]
Plans for West End revamp unveiled as Crossrail expected to bring in extra 250m visitors January 20, 2014 Trying to move down Oxford Street at the weekend or any day for that matter is getting rather like trying to move down a busy tube carriage during rush hour. No wonder then that with the imminent launch of Crossrail expected to bring 250m extra visitors West End leaders are thinking about how to improve [...]
Turkey’s lira is hitting new lows. Here’s what you need to know January 20, 2014 Another morning, another massacre for the Turkish lira. It hit new all-time lows against the dollar this morning, falling below $2.25. That's despite Turkey's fairly fresh faced economy minister Nihat Zeybekci saying on Saturday that "we couldn't couldn’t create an economic crisis in Turkey even if we wanted to, it’s that strong," according to BloombergHT. [...]
