UK house prices back in black at end of January January 31, 2013 HOUSE prices swung back into growth in January, according to Nationwide’s latest house price index. Prices grew 0.5 per cent over the first month of 2013, the data showed, so that the index was back to almost exactly the same level as during January 2012. This marks the first time in 11 months the annual [...]
Land Registry says house prices grew modestly over December January 29, 2013 HOUSE prices climbed upwards at a stately pace in December, consolidating modest yearly gains, according to data out yesterday. Housing was 0.8 per cent more expensive in the final month of 2012 than it was in November, the Land Registry said, capping off a yearly increase of 1.7 per cent. As it has throughout the [...]
Why the FTSE has rallied strongly in January January 29, 2013 THE FTSE 100 index has gained nearly 7 per cent since 2013 got underway, almost a month ago to the day. This is one of the most impressive starts to a year on record. Only two previous Januaries since the FTSE 100 was formed have beaten the current month (as of the time of writing). [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 23, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES GMG ends talks to sell Trader stake Guardian Media Group has called off talks with interested buyers over the sale of its half stake in the car classifieds company Trader Media Group following a failure to agree a price. Apax, its joint venture partner in Trader Media, was interested in buying out the [...]
S&P 500 hits fresh five year closing high January 22, 2013 US bank and commodity shares led the Standard & Poor’s 500 to a fresh five-year closing high yesterday on hopes that the global economy continues to mend. The Dow Jones industrial average also ended at a five-year high. The market also gained on signals that Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives aim today [...]
Lloyds pledges £6.5bn for first time buyers through this year January 21, 2013 LLOYDS is increasing its mortgages to first time buyers to its highest level since the group was dragged down in the financial crisis and had to be bailed out, indicating it is edging closer back to health. The banking group has promised to lend £6.5bn to 60,000 first time buyers in 2013. That is an [...]
S&P reaches its highest level for five years January 17, 2013 STRONGER-than-expected data on US housing starts and jobless claims lit a fire under stocks yesterday, pushing the S&P 500 to a five-year high and its third day of gains. Shares of chipmaker Intel rose in extended-hours trading after the company forecast better-than-expected first-quarter gross margins. Intel gained 1.85 per cent after closing up 2.6 per [...]
Lenders report rise in number of home loans January 16, 2013 MORTGAGE loans ticked up in November, an influential group of lenders said yesterday, with a rise in the number of first-time buyers providing a welcome boost to the figures. The number of loans for house purchases grew by six per cent in the penultimate month of 2012, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) found. Mortgages [...]
The rise and fall of HMV: Why great companies find it so hard to adapt January 15, 2013 I FIRST started work on the HMV advertising account in 1982, little knowing that I would handle the business for over 25 years, and that my path would cross HMV’s during a golden period for the record retailer. I say record retailer because that’s what it sold back then in 1982 – records made of [...]
PC sales crash as buyers shift focus to tablets January 14, 2013 PERSONAL computer sales plunged into decline for the first time in more than a decade last year as consumers switched to buying tablets, in a serious blow to PC manufacturers and software companies. Figures released yesterday by research firm Gartner showed that worldwide sales of PCs fell by 12.7m – or 3.5 per cent – [...]