Optimism of housebuilders is misguided July 5, 2011 PERSIMMON tried to sound an upbeat note yesterday, insisting it expected the housing market to pick up over the rest of the year. We don’t share the housebuilder’s optimism. House prices have been moving sideways for the past six months and mortgage lending remains tight. Would-be first-time buyers, unable to find the 20 per cent [...]
THE TIPSTER July 3, 2011 A REPORT from the US Department of Agriculture at the end of last week, flagging a marked increase in the amount of corn being sown by farmers, sent prices tumbling. A good harvest will certainly take the pressure off food supplies and in turn the prices being charged globally, but some will simply see this [...]
Confidence returns as Taylor Wimpey sees demand pushing up its forecasts June 30, 2011 PENT-UP demand and tight supply will prop up the UK housing market well into 2012, British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey predicted after it reported stronger margins and said it sees full-year profit forecasts being nudged higher. “Overall, we expect it [full-year pretax profit] to be slightly better than the market is currently expecting,” chief executive Pete [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 29, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BRITISH LAND TO BUY RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IN THE CITY British Land is in advanced talks to buy a City of London residential complex, in its first acquisition under a strategy to focus on the booming market for prime homes in the capital. The UK’s second-largest property company has agreed to buy Wardrobe Court [...]
Lenders slash mortgage rates to the lowest levels on record June 27, 2011 MORTGAGE interest rates have plummeted to an historic low, as lenders expect the Bank of England to persist with its loose monetary policy. Both tracker and fixed rate mortgages have slipped to their cheapest levels since 1988, when the website Moneyfacts began collecting the data. “An imminent rise in the Bank base rate now appears [...]
CRUNCH TIME FOR THE HIGH STREET June 26, 2011 FASHION retailer Jane Norman was on the brink of collapse this weekend, after all of its stores across the UK were closed for business, signalling imminent insolvency. Zolfo Cooper, the US accounting firm, has been lined up to put the distressed fashion retailer into a pre-pack administration, which could be approved in court as soon [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ASTRAZENECA TO OFFLOAD SWEDISH DIVISION AstraZeneca is in final talks to sell Astra Tech, the Swedish healthcare and dental business, to Dentsply International in a deal that could value the group at about $1.8bn (£1.1bn). The US dental equipment maker has outbid other potential buyers, including private equity group EQT Partners and medical [...]
Blackstone to investigate Northern Rock acquisition June 19, 2011 US PRIVATE equity giant Blackstone is in line to receive an information memorandum on Northern Rock, making the firm one on a short list of potential buyers for the nationalised lender when it is auctioned later this year. A source familiar with the matter told City A.M. that Blackstone will request the memorandum, due to [...]
Marubeni considers North Sea retreat June 19, 2011 A JAPANESE trading conglomerate is the latest firm to consider leaving its oilfield in the North Sea following George Osborne’s 12 per cent tax hike on the industry. Marubeni Corporation has put up for sale all but one of its North Sea oilfields, according to a weekend report. It is said to have hired Standard [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS June 15, 2011 3i GROUP Killik & Co notes that 3i issued a release this week announcing the sale of its stake in Ålö, a manufacturer of front-end loaders for tractors, for €240m. The sale sees 3i make approximately a four times money multiple on its original investment. The broker says 3i trades on a 22 per cent [...]