Banks report small appetite for borrowing July 25, 2011 LENDING to companies, consumers and house-buyers remained muted in June despite a pick-up in the number of mortgage approvals, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) announced yesterday. Net unsecured lending to consumers continued its steady decline, down by £100m in the month – matching the six month average and the fall recorded in May. Lending to [...]
Business morale dips in Belgium July 25, 2011 Business confidence in Belgium dropped for the fourth month in a row in July. The Belgian national bank index fell to minus 2.5 in July from minus 1.1 in June. Economists had expected the index to decline to around minus 2.1. “The services sector sub index actually rose from 10.4 to 13.9, while all other [...]
FTSE knocked by US default worry July 25, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index slipped back yesterday, weighed by weakness in financial issues on fears of a possible debt default by the United States, with investors’ attention switching to precious metal miners and defensively-perceived sectors. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 9.76 points, or 0.2 per cent at 5,925.26, snapping a four-session [...]
Markets hit by US debt wrangling July 25, 2011 Stocks suffered another difficult day as sovereign debt worries, this time from the US, weighed on markets. The FTSE 100 saw volatile trading with low volumes as investors anxiously watched for signs of a breakthrough between Democrats and Republicans over the US’ national debt ceiling. The parties are at loggerheads and have just days left [...]
Photobox and Moonpig in £120m merger July 25, 2011 Moonpig.com, the highly successful online greetings card company, has been snapped up by photograph printer Photobox for £120m in a deal described as a merger. Photobox will buy Moonpig using a mix of cash funded by loans and investors, and shares in the new group. The deal will combine Photobox’s 11m members and Moonpig’s 3m [...]
Yorkshire to buy Egg units from Citi July 25, 2011 Mortgage lender Yorkshire Building Society is to buy the mortgage and savings business of Egg Banking from American bank Citigroup, as Citi continues to sell non-core assets after its bailout during the credit crisis. Yorkshire, owned by its customers, said the Egg businesses it was acquiring comprised of a £2.5bn savings book and a 430 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 24, 2011 ASHCOURT ROWAN The wealth management group has appointed Jeremy Rance, its chief operating officer, as an executive director. Rance, 48, joined Ashcourt Rowan as director of planning in June last year. He led the negotiations on the acquisition of the Co-op Independent Financial Adviser business in October 2010. Rance was appointed as chief operating officer [...]
FTSE gains fuelled by Eurozone deal July 22, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked other global markets upwards as the sealing of a second bailout for Greece produced a collective sigh of relief from investors, governments and financial institutions. Leaders of the Eurozone threw a lifeline to debt-stricken Greece that includes an extra €109bn of government money as well as a significant contribution from private [...]
Nervous FTSE ends higher as EU solution for Greece looms July 21, 2011 FINANCIALS drove gains on Britain’s top share index yesterday, as hopes a solution could be found to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis boosted investor sentiment. The UK’s benchmark index closed up 46.07 points or 0.8 per cent at 5,899.89, having endured a choppy session, trading in a 137 point range as nervous investors jostled positions awaiting [...]
FTSE steadied by Greek breakthrough July 21, 2011 The FTSE 100 started solidly this morning as it emerged that France and Germany had reached an agreement on a second bailout for Greece. Banks led the way as investors gained confidence in stocks recently buffeted by fears of exposure to the debt crisis which has engulfed the Eurozone. Leaders of the 16-country bloc will [...]