GDP estimates: Germany avoids recession while France surprises calming Eurozone fears November 14, 2014 Germany has avoided sliding into recession, as the economy grew 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, while France reported surprise growth of 0.3 per cent ahead of expectations. The latest GDP estimates calm fears over the stagnating Eurozone economy and reverse the previous quarter’s trend when the German economy shrank and France became stagnant. [...]
2014 City A.M. awards: Legal & General CEO Nigel Wilson is the insurance boss with big ideas November 13, 2014 The Legal & General chief exec, City A.M.’s Business Personality of the Year. His hero is Aneurin Bevan, the firebrand post-war Labour minister and architect of the NHS. His career was inspired by a quotation from political theorist Sir Isaiah Berlin on the importance of searching after the common good. And when I meet [...]
Great Portland to start £500m building spree November 13, 2014 WEST End developer Great Portland Estates (GPE) said yesterday it would splurge £500m on its development pipeline as it looked to take advantage of London’s booming office market. The FTSE 250 property firm beat analyst expectations as it posted an 11.8 per cent rise in net asset value per share to 636p in the six [...]
Burberry 2014 Christmas campaign launched as profits hurt by foreign exchange loss November 12, 2014 Burberry yesterday brushed off concerns over foreign exchange movements, saying it expected the effects to wear off in the next six months after taking its toll on first-half profit. The luxury fashion group posted a six per cent rise in underlying profit to £152m in the six months to 30 September. But [...]
Aviva Investors’ Euan Munro on why markets will see more Wobbly Wednesdays November 11, 2014 It’s lunchtime at Aviva Investors’ offices at No.1 Poultry, but the three platters of fish, meat and vegetable sandwiches supplied by catering lie untouched on the table. Euan Munro, chief executive of the fund management house, is sitting drinking full fat Coca-Cola from a glass, while the pungent aroma of the Coq d’Argent restaurant upstairs [...]
Land Securities buoyed by rush for office space November 11, 2014 LAND Securities posted a better-than-expected leap in the value of its portfolio in the first half of the year, thanks to strong demand from companies keen to take up space in its buildings. The FTSE 100 landlord behind the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City said like-for-like rents jumped 2.2 per cent in the six [...]
Four charts that show the impact the First and Second World Wars had on the UK’s population November 11, 2014 After the phenomenal poppy display at the Tower of London, the loss of life during the First World War has taken on greater meaning for those remembering the conflict today. Filling the moat around the Tower, each poppy symbolises one of 888, 245 Brits who died during the four years. But those clever types at the [...]
Brits are on track to spend the most since 2010 November 10, 2014 UK consumer spending could be about to hit a four-year high as Brits splash cash in hotels, bars, restaurants over high street shops, according to a new study. Visa Europe's UK Expenditure Index, which crunches card spending, said household expenditure rose by 1.5 percent in October. This offset September's blip, which saw spending fall 0.5 [...]
Challenger bank Aldermore says IPO will still happen as lending lifts November 10, 2014 Challenger bank Aldermore, which pulled the plug on a planned London Stock Exchange listing last month, has posted promising third quarter results. Aldermore's total lending rose by 10 per cent in the third quarter, taking it to a 30 per cent increase since the beginning of 2014. This helped lift third quarter pre-tax profit [...]
Challenger bank Aldermore posts third quarter results: Sees lending, profit increase November 10, 2014 Challenger bank Aldermore, who pulled the plug on a planned London Stock Exchange listing last month, has posted promising third quarter results. Aldermore's total lending rose by 10 percent in the third quarter, taking it to a 30 percent increase since the beginning of 2014. This helped lift third quarter pretax profit to almost [...]