Bright signs can also be an indication of danger ahead November 12, 2012 THERE were glimmers of optimism from the housebuilders yesterday. Bovis Homes reported its average selling price up from £180,100 in 2011 to £190,000 and its operating margin expected to be 13 per cent, up from 10 per cent in 2011. Redrow and Taylor Wimpey also both backed the picture of a sector facing tough but [...]
Gold spikes as Fed turns on the taps September 13, 2012 THE FEDERAL Reserve launched a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) last night, with Ben Bernanke pledging to buy an extra $40bn (£24.8bn) of assets every month until the economy recovers and unemployment falls in earnest. The Fed will also keep extending the average maturity of its asset holdings through the rest of this year, [...]
Grazie, Mario September 6, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) is gearing up to spend billions of euros on supporting troubled governments, ECB boss Mario Draghi announced yesterday, sending markets soaring. As long as indebted governments ask the official bailout mechanisms for help and put in place strong plans to get their finances back on track, the ECB will consider [...]
Top London house prices rise by £1,200 every day December 13, 2011 PRIME central London prices are still soaring, according to the Knight Frank index, while the Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday revealed mortgage interest rates declined in the third quarter of 2011. Prime prices in central London rose one per cent in November and 12.6 per cent in the last 12 months, taking the average price [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LENOVO FOUNDER LIU STEPS DOWN AS CHAIRMAN The man who founded Lenovo and built it into the world’s second-biggest PC maker by sales has retired as chairman, handing over to his chief executive, in a sign of confidence that its recent turnround is on track. The retirement of Liu Chuanzhi came as Lenovo’s [...]
Cheap loans aid house prices October 11, 2011 HOUSE prices increased in August compared with July, but are still down on levels seen 12 months ago, according to figures out yesterday from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Meanwhile, statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), also out yesterday, showed homeowners taking advantage of low interest rates as remortgage levels [...]
Ireland eyes mortgage debt restructuring August 22, 2011 The Irish government is likely bring in legislation to restructure mortgage debts for thousands of troubled loanholders as it does not have the resources to fund a significant debt forgiveness programme, a junior minister has said. Ireland’s ruling coalition has promised to examine ways to ease the burden on mortgage holders struggling to cope with [...]
Inflation to stay above 4pc August 15, 2011 INFLATION in the UK could have slowed further in July, yet is expected to spike again in late summer and during autumn. July’s consumer price index (CPI) and retail price index (RPI) figures are set for publication this morning, with some analysts forecasting a fall to 4.1 per cent in the CPI, and for the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CQS SHUTS FUND BUILT ON SUBPRIME TO NEWCOMERS CQS, the London-based credit hedge fund that is one of the biggest of its kind globally, is preparing to shut to new investors its asset-backed securities fund – known for its successful bets in the US subprime mortgage market. The move marks a further step [...]
Qantas cuts spending and drops orders June 15, 2011 AUSTRALIA’S Qantas Airways will slash spending by A$700m (£459m) and plans to cancel aircraft orders as it battles waning demand, soaring fuel costs and investor displeasure, with its shares trading near multi-year lows. Qantas, which suffered a blow to its reputation after an Airbus A380 accident last year forced it to ground its flagship aircraft, [...]