Mortgages: Lending to home buyers and businesses picks up January 21, 2010 GROSS mortgage lending in December showed annual growth for the first time since October 2007, the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. Total lending reached £13.7bn last month, a three per cent rise on December 2008 and a 14 per cent gain on November. Paul Samter, economist at the CML, said: “Evidence suggests that [...]
US housebuilders gloomy as job market woes weigh January 19, 2010 CONCERNS about the poor job market and a further wave of home foreclosures depressed the confidence of US housebuilders in early January, an industry trade group reported yesterday. The home builders’ sentiment index declined to 15 in January from 16 in December, the National Association of Home Builders reported. The index, now at the lowest [...]
Bovis boost to housing market January 14, 2010 BOVIS is the latest housebuilder to issue upbeat figures fuelling hopes of a recovery in the housing market. The company said profit forecasts were on target with the average sales price up 2.5 per cent on 2008 to £154,600 in 2009. Bovis completed 1,803 homes compared with 1,817 in 2008 – with 1,527 of those [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU BELIEVE THE UK ECONOMY IS OUT OF RECESSION? January 14, 2010 ADE ABIOSE | CAVENDISH WEALTH MANAGEMENT “Personally, I’m still cautious. The main reason for thinking the economy did grow again is the better outlook for property. But I think that was fuelled by home movers pushed by low interest rates, not by first time buyers. We may be edging out, but we’re not clear of [...]
Find value and beauty in an Austrian chalet January 14, 2010 SKIING down tree-lined snowy vistas in winter; hiking through lush green mountains by crystal blue lakes in summer. This is what’s on offer in Austria’s traditional Alpine towns. “Austria’s valley towns are proper year-round places,” says Giles Gale of Savills’ Alpine Homes. “In the summer they are filled with people mountain biking and hill-walking. And [...]
Gunners can spoil the Coyle family reunion January 14, 2010 BOLTON WANDERERS vs ARSENAL SUNDAY – 4.00PM SKY SPORTS 1 OWEN Coyle couldn’t really ask for a more difficult first game in charge at the Reebok as Arsenal come to town hoping to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester United. Bolton are currently in the relegation zone and the main reason for that is [...]
Barratt in housing market boost January 14, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments today fuelled hopes of recovery in the sector with rising volumes and prices bringing about an improvement in operating margins. The FTSE 250 group completed 5028 homes in the six months to 31 December and says it on track to hit its full-year targets of 12,000 completions. The average price of its [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 13, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES REPSOL CHIEF HEADS FOR SHOWDOWN WITH CRITIC After months of speculation, Repsol’s Antonio Brufau tomorrow will be forced to defend his job as executive chairman of the Spanish oil and gas group against one of his fiercest critics. Luis del Rivero, chairman of Sacyr Vallehermoso construction and property company , wants to unseat [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 12, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES MAN AND RHEINMETALL MERGE MILITARY VEHICLE UNITS Man, the truck maker, and Rheinmetall, the automotive and defence company, are to merge their military wheeled vehicle businesses, potentially kicking off a limited but long-awaited consolidation in the overcrowded European land systems sector. Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles will eventually have about 1,300 employees and revenues [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 10, 2010 THE SUNDAY The Sunday Telegraph GOOGLE BOSS WARNS UK OVER DEBT MOUNTAIN The chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt, has given warning to the UK and other western governments that reducing their massive deficits will be far harder than in America because of the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. PET CHAIN SUITORS GIVEN [...]