Topps Tiles says green shoots are in sight as sales show signs of stabilising September 23, 2009 TILE and wood flooring retailer Topps Tiles yesterday said its markets were stabilising with sales falling at a slower pace in its second half, adding to hopes the recession may be ending. Topps Tiles – which is seen as a bellwether for DIYspending – said it expected sales at stores open more than a year to [...]
THE LONDON REPORT September 23, 2009 THE leading share index closed lower yesterday as falling commodity prices stung oil firms and miners while investors stayed cautious ahead of the conclusion of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting. The FTSE 100 ended 0.1 per cent, or 3.23 points, lower at 5,139.37, erasing gains from earlier in the session as shares on Wall [...]
Mortgage approvals soar 81 per cent year on year September 23, 2009 MORTGAGE approvals have risen 81 per cent year on year as the housing market recovers from its sharp spiral downwards, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said yesterday. Approvals fell slightly in August compared to July after seven consecutive monthly rises, the BBA said, attributing the dramatic year-on-year increase to the lending drought that gripped the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 21, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES VINCI CHIEF DOWNBEAT ON SECTOREurope’s construction market is likely to fall further next year, despite billions injected by governments in stimulus plans and emerging signs of recovery in the region’s two largest economies, Xavier Huillard, chief executive of Vinci, has warned. In an interview with the FT, Mr Huillard warned of further pain [...]
EC could block Dutch state’s loan guarantee agreement with ING September 15, 2009 THEEUROPEAN Commission (EC) has prolonged its review of a €22bn (£19.5bn) loan portfolio guarantee between ING and the Dutch state, saying the government may have paid too much. ING and the Dutch state struck a deal in January, under which the government agreed to guarantee 80 per cent of a €27.7bn portfolio of so-called Alt-A [...]
Take a punt on the market outlook for bricks and mortar September 13, 2009 A YEAR ago, many housing market observers were predicting doom. Prices would keep falling well into 2010, they said. The market could take years to pick up. But how wrong they were. Just as we have seen in the stock market, things have turned round much more quickly than almost anybody thought. Mortgage lender Halifax [...]
House prices still going up September 10, 2009 HOUSE prices rose 0.8 per cent in August, reducing the annual decline to 10.1 per cent, new figures from mortgage lender Halifax revealed yesterday. This marks the second successive monthly increase and the fourth so far this year, supporting the now widespread belief that the UK housing market has stabilised. More encouragingly, the less volatile [...]
UK set for square root-shaped recovery September 6, 2009 IT is almost official: we are out of recession. The economy is growing again, albeit at a snail’s pace, the equity and debt markets have bounced back, some firms are posting higher profits and there has been a mini-renaissance in City deal-making. All of which is great news but certainly not enough to uncork the [...]
Lending falls at record pace but mortgage approvals rise September 1, 2009 NET lending to individuals and companies fell over July at its sharpest pace since records began in 1993, threatening the strength of the UK’s economic recovery. The weak data came despite a rise in mortgage approvals and positive signs from quantitative easing. Data from the Bank of England yesterday showed that lending to non-financial companies [...]
Blow for Northern Rock credit holders as it halts bond payouts August 18, 2009 NATIONALISED lender Northern Rock shocked bond markets yesterday by ceasing payouts on several of its bonds in a bid to hoard cash ahead of a further £3bn government bailout. The value of the failed sub-prime mortgage lender’s credit plummeted as it announced it is to delay all payments where it is legally possible. The lender [...]