GM plots IPO to reduce government stake July 23, 2010 GENERAL Motors plans to file its registration for an initial public offering during the week of 16 August, just after the expected date for its second quarter results, according to US sources. A GM filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission would be the first step towards an IPO to reduce the US government’s [...]
GM snaps up AmeriCredit July 22, 2010 US car giant General Motors (GM) yesterday said it would acquire auto finance company AmeriCredit for $3.5bn (£2.29bn) in cash in a deal aimed at easing financing terms for subprime car buyers. The deal, which remains subject to approval by AmeriCredit’s shareholders, would give GM a captive finance arm for the first time since it [...]
FOCUS ON: GREENWICH, SE10 July 22, 2010 ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY Price: From £165,000 A luxury flat in an 18th century military school is not the typical home of a first-time buyer. But a regeneration project has turned the academy into a luxury development with studios, one-beds and two-beds on offer. Contact: Hamptons on 020 8856 0034, www.theacademy-woolwich.com FINGAL STREET Price: £435,000 A [...]
Morgan Stanley continues down the road to recovery July 21, 2010 WALL Street lapped up a solid set of second-quarter results from Morgan Stanley yesterday, buoying market sentiment after a disappointing performance over the same period from some of the bank’s peers, notably Goldman Sachs. Morgan Stanley beat analyst expectations with post-tax profit of $1.4bn (£921m) for the three months to June, swinging back into the [...]
BANK CHIEF ‘OGRE’ GETS AN IMAGE OVERHAUL July 20, 2010 FAIRFAX chief executive Stefan Allesch-Taylor is on the blower following a story in this column yesterday about the boutique bank scouting around for a new investor – a move which could potentially usurp the big man’s family trust as the firm’s largest shareholder. Not that Allesch-Taylor’s particular beef is with the story itself, mind. He’s [...]
House price gains set to be wiped out July 18, 2010 ALL the gains seen in property prices over the past six months will be wiped out by the end of the year, thanks to more aggressive pricing and an increase in the number of houses coming on to the market, property website Rightmove will say today. The forecast forms part of its monthly survey of [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS July 15, 2010 BP: ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY At last, some good news for BP. Its stock has sunk so low – closing yesterday at 401.75p – that investors are jumping at the chance to snap up cheap stakes in the oil giant. Clients of Barclays Stockbrokers have been piling into the stock – a third of [...]
FOCUS ON: BASILDON, ESSEX July 15, 2010 COBURG LANE, Price: £152,500 This smart two-bedroom maisonette would be ideal for first-time buyers. It comes with off-street parking and access to communal gardens. There’s no onward chain. Contact: Balgores on 01268 271110, www.balgoresproperty.co.uk SAMUEL ROAD Price: £280,000 A spacious four-bedroom house with plenty of storage and a well-sized back garden. It is within walking [...]
The ascent of prime London’s new hotspot July 15, 2010 FITZROVIA, the area around the BT Tower, bordered by Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road, Great Portland Street and Euston Road, should be Londoners’ idea of property heaven. The West End is on your doorstep, as is Regent’s Park. The ever-more exciting restaurant and bar scene of Goodge and Charlotte Streets, and the more established prettiness [...]
Don’t let your prime real estate abroad stand idle while you slave away at work July 15, 2010 WITH global growth likely to be sluggish in the coming years, it might seem like a poor time to invest in a holiday home. But with a clear strategy for renting out the place when you’re not in residence, it is easily possible to make back the cost of maintenance and to generate a little [...]