Somersby the pick over the Rainbow January 19, 2012 SOMERSBY was beaten only a short head by Master Minded in last year’s Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot and looks the value alternative to Finian’s Rainbow in tomorrow’s 25th running of the race (3.45pm). Henrietta Knight’s eight-year-old hasn’t found winning that easy and has only one success to his name in 11 runs since December [...]
British support for nuclear energy returns to its pre-Fukushima high January 17, 2012 BRITISH support for nuclear energy is at an all-time high as the nation’s collective consciousness moves away from Japan’s Fukushima disaster. According to research by Ipsos MORI, the dip in favourable attitudes towards nuclear power seen in surveys in June 2011 was “no more than a temporary blip”, and backing for a nuclear programme is [...]
Homes more affordable as supply slumps January 15, 2012 HOMES are at their most affordable level for 14 years, according to data released today by Halifax, while figures from Rightmove suggest very low housing supply will prevent the market falling further. First-time buyers spent 27 per cent of their disposable income on their mortgage, down from the 37 per cent average seen over the [...]
MINERVA APPOINTS EXTRA AGENTS TO MARKET WALBROOK OFFICES January 12, 2012 PROPERTY agent Jones Lang LaSalle has been hired to give an extra push to Minerva’s efforts to find tenants for St Botolph’s and the Walbrook (pictured left) in the City of London. Minerva, bought by Delancey and Area Property Partners last year, has struggled to find tenants since completing the Walbrook in 2010. CBRE and [...]
FOCUS ON: CHORLEYWOOD, HERTS January 12, 2012 THE COURT HOUSE, CHENIES Price: £2.15m Constructed in 1897, the house retains many of the original period features, including attractive fireplaces, parquet flooring to the principal rooms and sash windows to the drawing room and dining room. Contact Knight Frank on 01494 675368 WOODSIDE HOUSE Price: £1.35m Dating back to the mid 1800s, this house [...]
Small businesses grow more confident as hopes increase for an upturn in US January 10, 2012 CONFIDENCE in American small businesses has hit its highest level since last February as increasing numbers of firms looked to expand in December, according to data out yesterday from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The small business optimism index rose by 1.8 points to 93.8. The index has now gained 5.7 points over [...]
High-end house prices on the rise in London January 8, 2012 TOP-END house prices in London have kept rising despite global economic uncertainty, according to data seen by City A.M. Properties worth between £5m and £10m grew in value by 3.5 per cent in the year to the end of September 2011, research from Investec reveals. Houses worth between £1m and £2m increased in value by [...]
CITY A.M. EDITOR ALLISTER HEATH December 22, 2011 THANKS to you, our readers, we are delighted to be able to announce that our first ever Christmas Appeal has raised £401,116 for a very deserving charity. As you know, the money will go to Opportunity International, our chosen partner for the appeal, and help it in its wonderful job of providing a range of [...]
US jobless claims fall to a three-and-a-half-year low December 15, 2011 THE NUMBER of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a three-and-a-half-year low last week and factory activity in New York state scaled a seven-month high in December, more evidence of a pick-up in economic activity in the States. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 366,000, the [...]
Lenders expect repossessions to rise in 2012 December 15, 2011 MORTGAGE lenders expect the number of repossessions to shoot up by over 20 per cent next year, figures out yesterday revealed. Around 37,000 properties have been repossessed this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates, and it expects the figure to rise to around 45,000 in 2012. And while mortgage lending grew in November [...]