WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AIRLINE FINANCING RIFT DEEPENS Ryanair and Emirates have taken the unusual step of joining forces with eight other airlines as a multibillion-dollar row over aircraft financing starts to split the world’s largest airlines into two rival camps. The Irish budget airline and Dubai’s Emirates normally shun industry alliances. But yesterday they revealed they [...]
Nationwide profits up after cost cuts November 23, 2010 NATIONWIDE Building Society’s profits rose 26 per cent to £147m in the first half of 2010, from £117m the previous year, as it cut costs and reduced loan impairment charges. Pre-tax profits rose 83 per cent to £259m in the six months to 30 September 2010, from £143m in the same period in 2009. Impairment [...]
Nationwide says house price slump unlikely November 23, 2010 Nationwide Building Society, Britain’s second-biggest mortgage lender, reported a 26 per cent jump in first-half profit, and said it did not expect big house price falls despite signs of property market weakness. Nationwide, which publishes a closely watched monthly house price survey, said major price falls were unlikely in 2011 because continued low interest rates [...]
Federal Reserve’s hubris will cost all of us dearly November 3, 2010 IT may have been slightly more than the markets were expecting – but nobody will have been shocked by the Federal Reserve’s decision to embark on another $600bn worth of quantitative easing (QE2). That doesn’t make the decision any less wrong or short-termist; the problem is that the Fed and the bulk of the US [...]
US economy in slim GDP rise October 29, 2010 US economic growth edged up as expected in the third quarter but not enough to chip away at high unemployment or change perceptions of more monetary easing from the Federal Reserve next week. Gross domestic product expanded at a two per cent annual rate as consumer spending rose at its fastest pace since 2006, the [...]
Dudley: Fed has no “magic wand” October 26, 2010 The US Federal Reserve cannot “wave a magic wand” to fix the economy overnight, but it can provide “essential” support, a top Fed policymaker. Indeed, support will likely be warranted unless economic conditions improve, William Dudley, president of the New York Fed and a permanent voter on the Fed’s policy-setting panel, said in a speech [...]
UK Mortgage approvals at ten-year low October 25, 2010 MORTGAGE lending fell to its lowest level in a decade in September, the latest figures from the British Banker’s Association (BBA) showed yesterday confirming earlier figures produced by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) last week. Gross mortgage lending stood at £8bn last month, 10.8 per cent lower than a year earlier. The number of [...]
Retail sales hit by tax and inflation October 21, 2010 THERE is a simple reason why retail sales are beginning to fall, and it has very little to do with the Comprehensive Spending review. A triple whammy of limited pay rises, elevated inflation and tax increases have conspired to impoverish most of the public over the past year, a development that has been barely picked [...]
Home Retail hit as shoppers cut back October 20, 2010 Home Retail posted an expected 23 per cent fall in first-half profit as cash-strapped low-income shoppers trimmed their spending. The firm, which owns Argos and DIY business Homebase, said it made an underlying pre-tax profit of £95m in the six months to 28 August. That was in line with company guidance of a 20-25 per [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS October 14, 2010 THIRD OF ADULTS WITHOUT SAFETY NET Almost a third of adults have less than £249 set aside as a financial safety net and 19 per cent have no savings at all to fall back on, according to new research from HSBC. This is equivalent to just five days average take home pay while the recommended [...]