Housing boom shows signs of slowing down July 9, 2014 BRITAIN’S house price boom slowed down in June, according to figures published yesterday – but strong demand is expected to keep prices rising steadily. Prices jumped 8.8 per cent across the country in the 12 months to June, Halifax said, to an average of £183,462. However, in June alone prices slid 0.6 per cent, reflecting [...]
Brazil may be out of the World Cup, but there are reasons to be cheerful July 9, 2014 They may have been humiliated at the World Cup, but culturally, Brazilians still have plenty to be proud of You could be forgiven for thinking the only things that had ever taken place during centuries of Brazilian history were five World Cup wins, Pele and samba. But 200 million people live in Brazil, and believe [...]
La Senza goes into administration, putting jobs at risk July 1, 2014 UK lingerie retailer La Senza has gone into administration for the second time in two years, putting 752 jobs at risk. The event comes after Middle Eastern retail investor Alshaya was unable to revive the business, having acquired it in 2012 as it was going through a pre-pack administration deal. Over 1,300 employees lost their [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 01 July 2014 June 30, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES EU slams US over Microsoft privacy A US attempt to force Microsoft to hand over emails held on servers in Ireland has drawn a strong rebuke from Brussels in one of the first tests of cross-border privacy raised by cloud computing. The US demand could contravene international law and should have been handled [...]
Bank of England mortgage lending cap attempts to stop boom June 26, 2014 The Bank of England announced a new mortgage lending cap yesterday, with the hope that the rule would cool down the housing market if credit became too frenzied. Governor Mark Carney revealed the rule, which will put a ceiling on banks’ riskier mortgage lending. The financial policy committee (FPC) decision means that no more than [...]
Football Comment: Liverpool being hit hardest by Suarez bite ban June 26, 2014 DEBATE will rage on over whether Luis Suarez’s four-month ban from all football, plus nine international games, is a fitting punishment for his latest biting incident, but amid all the madness the biggest losers from this sorry episode are Liverpool. The Reds have just had a magnificent season and Suarez has been at the heart [...]
Bankers report anaemic rise in business loans June 24, 2014 LENDING to businesses is rising sluggishly while the latest mortgage lending figures showed yesterday that the new regulatory efforts are helping to cool the growth of credit for housing. Figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) indicate that business lending has barely budged from its position a year ago, rising by only 0.3 per cent, [...]
Italy v Uruguay spread betting June 23, 2014 IF ALL had gone to plan for England then we would be looking ahead to their final group game against Costa Rica. But since this afternoon’s clash is now a dead rubber, with Roy Hodgson’s men already eliminated, we’ll focus on Italy’s meeting with Uruguay, where it’s winner-takes-all and the spotlight will firmly be on [...]
In graphs: Stamp duty rises by over £900m in 12 months June 20, 2014 A Londoner making his or her way up the housing ladder can expect to have paid £38,000 in stamp duty between 1998 and 2014, according to new research by Lloyds Banking Group. The data also shows, as this paper reported, that stamp duty was up over £900m in the last 12 months. These are big [...]
Why TSB’s share price has jumped by 13pc on its first day June 20, 2014 On its first day of trading TSB shares have moved up by more than 13 per cent, buoyed by strong investor demand. Lloyds floated the bank at 260p per share, valuing the bank at £1.3bn. The sale was 10 times oversubscribed. For now, trading is only conditional – institutional investors are involved but none of [...]