FTSE closes the week on a high January 21, 2011 ENERGY stocks led the FTSE into a rebound today following the sharp sell-offs seen in the past two days’ sessions. The FTSE 100 closed up 28.34 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,896.25, having hit a five-week closing low on Thursday. Royal Bank of Scotland was by far the biggest riser, up 6.5 per cent [...]
Property experts say stamp duty hike will not hinder sales January 20, 2011 HIGH-END property buyers will not be put off by the looming rise in stamp duty, according to research seen by City A.M. Though the OECD warned yesterday that the tax places unfair barriers on the housing market for some, 52 per cent of property professionals surveyed by Investec thought the 25 per cent duty hike [...]
Mourad worth Big Buck’s in World Hurdle January 20, 2011 WITH just under two months to go until the start of the Cheltenham Festival, the time is right to start building our ante-post portfolio. The purpose of any bet placed such a long way in advance of the event itself is to take a price about a horse that will supposedly be a lot shorter [...]
William Hill profit to come in at top of forecasts January 19, 2011 William Hill, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, said full-year operating profit would be at the top end of expectations after a surge in demand for in-play betting underpinned a strong fourth quarter. William Hill, which has around 2,300 betting shops in Britain and Ireland, said on Wednesday it expected an operating profit of around £275m for its [...]
City A.M. joins forces with the Epsom Derby January 17, 2011 CITY A.M. has agreed a deal with Epsom Downs Racecourse to become the official newspaper of the Investec Derby Festival, which takes place on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 June at Epsom Downs Racecourse. The agreement will see City A.M. produce a Derby Special Edition as its first ever Saturday newspaper. The 20-page publication will [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: HOW HIGH WILL INFLATION RISE? January 16, 2011 PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC “There is a worrying inflation outlook in the UK. Our forecast is looking for a rise to 3.5 per cent for December, and it seems likely that inflation will exceed the four per cent level later this year.” HOWARD ARCHER | IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT “The data is expected to showthat annual [...]
GROWING CONFIDENCE IN UK ECONOMY January 13, 2011 The Investec entrepreneur confidence index that tracks the confidence levels of entrepreneurs in the UK economy has seen a small rise of 2 per cent since June. Some 56 per cent of the entrepreneurs interviewed believe that the economy will improve over the next 12 months. Ed Cottrell of Investec said: “The overall findings from [...]
UK Mail blames poor weather conditions for profit warning January 12, 2011 SHARES in UK Mail dropped more than nine per cent yesterday after the delivery firm warned on its full-year profits, prompting Investec to cut its earnings and dividend forecasts and its target price to 400p from 420p. “Whilst we were able to manage our operations such that over 99 per cent of our Christmas parcel [...]
Banks hoist FTSE back above 6,000 after a losing streak January 11, 2011 BANKS, lifted by upbeat broker comment, helped hoist Britain’s top share index back above the 6,000 level yesterday as investors shrugged off Eurozone debt worries for the time being. The FTSE 100 index closed up 57.73 points, or 1 per cent, at 6,014.03, snapping a three-day losing streak. Banks were the standout gainers after falls [...]
Halifax: Modest decline in house prices signals price stagnation for coming year January 10, 2011 HOUSE prices dropped slightly in the final three months of the year, according to a Halifax study released yesterday. “Prices were 0.9 per cent lower than in the previous quarter,” said Halifax economist Martin Ellis. “This rate of decline is significantly less than the quarterly falls of five to six per cent during the second [...]