Sterling hits a record low against euro September 2, 2008 Pressure mounts as the Treasury prepares to slash the UK’s economic growth forecasts Gloomy comments by Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were yesterday blamed for pushing the pound to an all-time low against the euro. Sterling reached a 12-year low against the currencies of its major trading partners after Darling said the economy [...]
Home loans plummet August 27, 2008 Deals for new houses remained close to a record low last month, with approvals for mortgages 65 per cent lower than a year ago. Mortgage approvals totalled 22,448 last month, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), just above June’s series low of 22,369 but almost 12,000 below the average of the past six months. [...]
ING profits hit as asset fears build August 14, 2008 ING, the Dutch bank and insurer, reported a slide in second-quarter earnings of 25 per cent yesterday, as it yielded smaller returns on its investments. Net profit fell to €1.9bn (£1.5bn) from €2.56bn a year earlier, beating market expectations but signalling a downturn in the fortunes of its investments. CEO Michel Tilman said: “We are, [...]
Halifax piles on woe August 8, 2008 The drip feed of bad news for the property market continued yesterday when Britain’s biggest lender Halifax revealed that house prices have fallen back to mid-2006 levels. House prices are now 8.8 per cent lower than they were this time last year, Halifax said, with an average home in Britain costing £21,733 less than July [...]
Banking tragedy fails to lift market players August 4, 2008 You could say the UK banks reporting season is turning into a comedy of errors but perhaps a Shakespearean tragedy would be more apt. It was an awful first act for the sector last week but the drama will reach its crescendo this week as we await downbeat numbers from HSBC, Barclays and RBS. The [...]
Next cautious after half year sales fall 6 per cent July 31, 2008 Next, the second largest clothing retailer in the UK, saw sales fall in the first half of the year and said the trend was likely to continue this year. Second quarter sales actually fared better than expected, down 2.4 per cent on the same quarter the previous year, as the warmer summer weather coaxed shoppers [...]
Lloyds TSB profit decline rocks the City July 31, 2008 Lloyds TSB shocked the City yesterday as it raised its dividend 2 per cent to 11.4p, despite posting a 70 per cent slump in profits. Pre-tax profits at the high street bank dipped to £599m, compared to £1.99bn last year, reflecting the impact of £585m of write-downs from the bank’s insurance business. And the bank’s [...]
Merrill soars on bet worst could be over July 30, 2008 Shares in embattled US banking titan Merrill Lynch jumped nearly 8 per cent yesterday after the bank agreed to sell a massive debt portfolio at a discount, raising investor hopes it was putting its problems behind it. CEO John Thain has gone back to shareholders to boost the bank’s capital reserves, despite repeated assurances to [...]
London hardest hit as house prices suffer further falls July 28, 2008 Fresh evidence that the housing market is continuing to deteriorate emerged today as an influential survey revealed prices fell for the tenth month in a row – with most of the declines hitting London. House prices fell a further 1.2 per cent in July, compared to a 1 per cent fall from June, according to [...]