Markets slip as Italy debt crisis deepens November 9, 2011 Dramatic political changes at two of the Eurozone’s crisis-ridden economies initially boosted world stocks but markets went into reverse as it became clear that Italy’s debt woes were escalating. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said late yesterday that he would step down after parliament passes budget reforms. Greece, meanwhile, was working create a consensus government [...]
Persimmon and Bovis see demand rise November 8, 2011 TWO of the UK’s biggest housebuilders yesterday reported a boost in demand as the sector picked-up with first time buyers helping to lift the gloom. Persimmon said the number of first-time buyers has risen by over 35 per cent since the same period last year, a welcome boost to the industry that has seen first-time [...]
House prices supported by rising activity November 7, 2011 HIGHER activity in the property market has propped up house prices, according to two leading surveys of the industry. Yet while the market has perked up, activity remains slow by historical standards, with prices largely remaining flat over recent months. The Halifax reported a surprise 1.8 per cent spike in house prices last month compared [...]
BP’s £4bn Pan Am deal fails November 6, 2011 BP’S long-awaited deal to sell a majority stake in Argentina’s second-largest oil producer Pan American Energy for $7bn (£4bn) collapsed in acrimony yesterday after the buyer walked away. Bridas, the oil and gas firm owned by Cnooc of China and Argentina’s Bulgheroni family, said BP was to blame for the collapse of the deal because [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BIG AREAS STILL LACK 3G, SAYS OFCOM Nearly 90 per cent of the UK’s land mass and a quarter of buildings are unable to receive all five 3G phone networks a decade after the introduction of the mobile licences, according to the telecoms regulator. In its first report on the UK’s communications infrastructure, [...]
Best month in 37 years for the S&P October 27, 2011 US stocks surged three per cent yesterday as an agreement by European leaders to help contain the region’s two-year debt crisis lifted a cloud hovering over markets. Optimism that a deal would be struck to prevent widespread financial distress fueled the market’s rebound in October. The S&P 500 is up more than 13 per cent [...]
Barclays to offer 90pc mortgages October 26, 2011 BARCLAYS launched a new bid to entice prospective house-buyers back to the market yesterday by offering no-fee mortgages needing only a ten per cent deposit. The bank has refused to offer 90 per cent loan-to-value mortgages since 2008 when it pulled them during the financial crisis, but is now following rivals such as NatWest and [...]
LIBERTARIAN LEAFLETERS HIT OUT AT ANTI-CAPITALIST PROTESTS October 17, 2011 SNEAKING among the protesters outside St. Paul’s Cathedral over the weekend was a pack of intrepid pro-capitalist activists. Their purpose? To reform and educate the anti-corporate revolutionaries on the beauty of an unimpeded free market. “We distributed more than 100 leaflets to protesters,” ringleader Simon Gibbs told The Capitalist. “One third of protesters, mostly young [...]
More time for takeover talks October 17, 2011 THE Takeover Panel made the first extensions to its new “put up or shut up” deadline imposed on buyers of UK companies yesterday, granting several potential bidders more time to put their proposals together. Entertainment rights company Coolabi, the home of children’s TV favourite cat Bagpuss, is one of four firms that have been granted [...]
Rail fares wipe benefit of commuting October 2, 2011 The projected eight per cent rise in rail fares next year looks set to tip the balance of affordability against young professional families and first time city buyers seeking to move out of London. Research from home finders County Homesearch found the combined cost of travel season tickets and mortgage repayments for homeowners in commuter [...]