Londoners hit as house prices fall September 19, 2010 THE UK HOUSING market dropped back for the third month in a row in September, with London prices now also moving into the red. Figures from Rightmove show that average asking prices across the UK dropped by 1.1 per cent to £229,767 compared with the previous month. Prices have now fallen back by a total [...]
Margins too tight to bear September 16, 2010 THE British dairy market is notoriously competitive, but investors were not prepared for yesterday’s shock profit warning from Robert Wiseman. Although its first-half numbers are in line, the second half is going to turn sour. Full-year profits are now forecast to be £7m lower than thought. A crushing round of price negotiations with Tesco is [...]
CML: Lending weak in July September 13, 2010 MORTGAGE lending in July continued to be weak in what is often a strong month, according to the latest figures released yesterday from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The CML said mortgage lenders issued 56,000 new mortgages worth £8.4bn in July, up slightly on June’s figure of 52,000 mortgages at £7.7bn and 53,000 mortgages [...]
Redrow calls for state help on mortgages September 9, 2010 THE head of housebuilder Redrow called on the government to take action over the sickly first-time buyer market in a bid to revive overall sales, after reporting better-than-expected annual results. Steve Morgan, the founder of Redrow who returned in a boardroom coup last year, described state intervention as a “no-brainer” due to low mortgage availability [...]
PROPERTY NEWS September 9, 2010 HAMPTONS RELEASES IPAD APPLICATION Hamptons International has this week become the first UK residental estate agent to launch an app for the iPad. The app allows you to view high-resolution photos and floorplans for properties and to pinpoint the location of properties on a full-screen map. You can also use GPS to search for properties [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GO-AHEAD’S RESULTS? September 2, 2010 JOHN LAWSON | INVESTEC What it has done in a challenging market is encouraging. Its focus on maintaining the dividend is a very important sign of its confidence and commitment. Right now nobody knows what the government is going to do in order to cut spending, but it seems for Go-Ahead it might not be [...]
asia’s moon to brighten wine orders September 2, 2010 MD & Founder of Fine Wine Merchant Bordeaux Index AS THE wine market reluctantly drags itself back to work after the long summer break we approach what has become one of the defining periods of the trading year, the run-up to Asia’s mid-autumn festival of the moon, which falls on 22 September this year. This [...]
House prices drop for second month September 2, 2010 House prices fell for the second month in a row in August, according to the Nationwide building society. Prices dropped 0.9 per cent last month, following a 0.5 per cent fall decline in July. It is the first time that prices have fallen for two consecutive months since February 2009. The average UK house price [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 1, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES MEAT PRICE SURGE FUELS FEARS OF FOOD INFLATION Global meat prices have hit a 20-year high as robust demand from emerging countries has coincided with a drop in production by exporters such as the US and Australia, fuelling concerns about rising food inflation. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s index of meat prices [...]
City veteran to help troubled Gartmore September 1, 2010 EMBATTLED fund manager Gartmore hired industry veteran Robert Kyprianou as a non-executive director yesterday as rumours swirled of a sell-off by its largest shareholder. Kyprianou, whose CV includes stints at ABN Amro’s investment arm and Axa Framlington, will add weight to Gartmore’s board at a time of intense difficulty for the company. Gartmore has seen [...]