FTSE edges down as UK borrowing rises July 20, 2012 Telecoms giant Vodafone pushed the FTSE 100 lower while UK government borrowing came in above estimates this morning. The Office for National Statistics said that public sector net borrowing excluding financial sector interventions rose last month to £14.4bn from £13.9bn in June 2011. On London’s blue chip index Vodafone fell 1.3 per cent after the [...]
CITY VIEWS | DO YOU THINK THE OLYMPICS WILL BE A BOOST TO THE ECONOMY? July 19, 2012 ALEX TROTT ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT I think it mainly will affect the retail sector, because of the amount of people coming into the area. I agree that London will attract more attention than usual. It’s a big player in the world. JOE CHICK SEB KEY ASSET MANAGEMENT I doubt there will be a profit overall, [...]
Next governor of the Bank must not be paid for failure July 19, 2012 IN 2008, an elderly lady asked a killer question about the credit crunch which left the so-called economic experts red-faced. During a briefing by academics at the London School of Economics on chaos in the international markets, the Queen asked: “Why did nobody notice it?” Another Old Lady – she of Threadneedle Street – had [...]
Mothercare looks overseas as UK business shrinks July 19, 2012 Baby products retailer Mothercare, facing intensifying competition in Britain, said its overseas sales rose 11 percent in the first quarter, contrasting with a more than 10 per cent fall in total sales in its home market. The company, which also sells maternity wear, said comparable sales in the UK fell 6.7 per cent in the [...]
Land Securities vacancies up as woes continue July 18, 2012 LAND SECURITIES, the UK’s largest landlord, has been hit by a fall in visitors to its shopping centres in the three months to July, which the company blamed on “ongoing uncertain economic news”. The company reported yesterday that footfall in its shopping malls fell by 2.8 per cent on the same period last year, and [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | WHAT DOES TODAY’S STATEMENT MEAN FOR LAND SECURITIES? July 18, 2012 ALAN CARTER INVESTEC Land Securities always does developments well, or at least that is what we have been told by them. This statement is going to need to hold true over the coming two years as developments come to fruition, at a time when the first signs of weakness are starting to appear. ‘Hold’. ALISON [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 17, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES M&S to charge for current accounts Marks and Spencer is set to become the first UK bank to shun free current accounts as it plans to charge all customers a monthly fee for banking services when it launches later this year. The retailer said it would offer two accounts, priced at £15 and [...]
Former chancellor and a bishop to probe Libor-rigging scandal July 17, 2012 FORMER chancellor Nigel Lawson and the Bishop of Durham are among the five peers yesterday appointed to the parliamentary investigation into banks’ abuse of the London inter-bank offered rate (Libor). In recent years Lawson has become a leading proponent of the campaign to split bank’s retail operations from their investment banking arms. Other peers appointed to [...]
Retail bonds boom as ICAP shuts its £50m issue ahead of schedule July 17, 2012 BROKER ICAP yesterday closed its £50m retail bond issue earlier than expected following a strong response from investors. “ICAP has met sufficient demand for the bond,” a spokesman said. They declined to comment on the likelihood of future issues. The bond offered a 5.5 per cent return over a six year period and subscribers could [...]
We need a fresh approach to risk July 17, 2012 IN LATE June, beginning of July, someone pressed the emergency malfunction switch again for the UK’s banks. The reputational fallout has been toxic. Even Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England said: “[something] went very wrong with the UK banking industry and we need to put it right.” In just two short weeks, [...]