Chinese Hony Capital eats up Pizza Express July 14, 2014 PIZZA Express became the latest UK brand to be snapped up by a Chinese buyer after it was announced that the restaurant chain would be sold to Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital for around £900m. The sale of Pizza Express is part of a recent trend that has seen Chinese buyers take ownership of [...]
Mortgage lending growth still firm despite new regulations July 10, 2014 The number of loans for house purchases rose by a quarter in the year to May, according to figures released yesterday, suggesting no dramatic effect from the raft of new regulations for the sector. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) announced that house purchase lending was up in value by 25 per cent to £9.6bn [...]
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 [...]