Factory input costs fall but prices stay high September 9, 2011 Prices for manufactured UK goods stuck at a record high in August despite a fall in the costs of raw materials as fuel costs dipped, official data shows. Factory gate inflation stayed at July’s upwardly revised reading of 6.1 per cent, the highest annual rate since October 2008. Analysts had forecast a 5.9 percent increase. [...]
Why buying property is no panacea September 8, 2011 ANYBODY interested in the housing market and in trying to preserve their wealth in these uncertain times should take a look at a fascinating new book. Safe as Houses: a Historical Analysis of Property Prices is full of useful facts – and a stark reminder that investing in residential property isn’t as sure a bet [...]
Demand falls for EU output September 8, 2011 EXPORTS and imports declined in July in Germany, according to figures released yesterday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSC). German exports fell by 1.5 per cent, following June’s 1.3 per cent decline. Imports fell by 0.3 per cent, reducing the country’s trade surplus to €10.1bn (£8.8bn), its lowest since January 2010. Analysts point to sluggish [...]
Bank keeps interest rates at 0.5 per cent September 8, 2011 The Bank of England has kept interest rates at 0.5 per cent for another month, in line with expectations, following a run of weak economic data. Purchasing managers’ surveys have shown the UK manufacturing sector, once the bright spot in Britain’s lacklustre recovery, contracting for the last two months. An equivalent survey of services firms [...]
Investors looking for bargains among battered stocks power the FTSE rally September 7, 2011 Britain’s top share index notched up solid gains yesterday, led by banks and commodities, as investors sought out bargains among battered stocks, but analysts, eckoned the rally was unsustainable. The FTSE 100 ended 161.75 points, or 3.1 per cent, higher at 5,318.59, building on Tuesday’s 1.1 per cent advance. It had shed nearly six per [...]
Lehman wars with Barclays over bonuses September 7, 2011 LEHMAN Brothers Holdings, whose North American business was taken over by Barclays in 2008, asked a US judge yesterday to force the British bank to return $500m (£312.9m) it says was meant to go to employees. In the latest round of a long legal dispute, Lehman told a hearing in US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan that [...]
LORD FINK WARMS UP FOR PARTY MARATHON September 7, 2011 HE HAS survived running the world’s largest hedge fund and managing the books for the Conservative Party. But the test that will really prove the making of Lord Stanley Fink is a 24-hour, country-hopping bender from London to Spain. Next Thursday, Fink and his business associate David Johnstone, who co-founded the luxury brands holding company [...]
Upbeat Burford sees sales soar September 7, 2011 COMMERCIAL dispute financier Burford Capital yesterday said half-yearly revenue rose to $11.5m (£7.19m). The 187.5 per cent rise for the six months to 30 June comes after the Aim-listed firm expanded its range of litigation-related investments. Pre-tax profit increased more than sixfold to $7.14m. The investment company, registered in Guernsey, is headed by Sir Peter [...]
LLOYDS HIT BY SURGE IN PPI COMPLAINTS September 6, 2011 LLOYDS (led by Antonio Horta Osorio, pictured) was the most complained-about bank in the first half of 2011 after being hit by a flood of disputes over mis-sold payment protection insurance, the financial ombudsman service said yesterday. It received 37,696 complaints against Lloyds Banking Group, of which about 26,910 were related to PPI. Barclays received [...]
Exports struggle to keep EU afloat as consumer demand slides even further September 6, 2011 OVERALL growth slowed dramatically across Europe from April to June, figures released yesterday confirmed – but growing demand from other countries helped the 27 member states in positive figures. GDP across the European Union grew by a meagre 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, taking growth for the 12 months to June to 1.7 [...]