Former CBI boss tasked with restoring banking’s image at head of professional standards body September 19, 2013 Former head of the CBI and ex-editor of the Financial Times, Sir Richard Lambert, is to head up a new banking standards body designed to repair the image of Britain's banks. Lambert's appointment was first revealed by Sky News, and he is considered a suitably heavyweight candidate for the role. The form CBI boss quit [...]
Bubble fears too high – the housing market is ordinary September 19, 2013 The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has announced that gross mortgage lending remained steady in August at an estimated £16.6bn. (Release) In July, the figure was £16.7bn and up 28 per cent from August 2012 (£13bn). Not unexpectedly, the CML highlighted that: Prospects for the UK economy continue to brighten, although there is a risk [...]
Survey shows strongest manufacturing growth since 2007 September 19, 2013 Strong manufacturing data released for September – The CBI's industrial trends survey shows orders increasing from zero to nine, smashing analyst expectations of a rise to just two. Factory output expectations came in at 33 versus expectations of 25, and export orders at six versus minus seven. Samuel Tombs, UK Economist, Capital Economics: September’s UK [...]
Richmond on Thames bags highest healthy life expectancy September 19, 2013 Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that looked at healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth for Upper Tier Local Authorities has found that the highest belongs to residents of Richmond upon Thames, with 70.3 years for males and 72.1 years for females. (Release) (ONS) (ONS) HLE is worked out by dividing lifespan into [...]
New heights for Lufthansa with order for 59 Boeing 777s and Airbuses September 19, 2013 Airline Lufthansa has announced the purchase of 59 new planes: 34 Boeing 777-9Xs and 25 Airbus A350-900s. (Release) The new planes will join the 107-strong fleet, serving to replace older 747-400s and Airbus A340-300, which be phased out by 2025. Lufthansa's order totals €14bn (£11.7bn) to date with an overall list value of €36bn (£30.2bn) for 295 new aircraft [...]
Regulator calls for pension crackdown from government September 19, 2013 Weaknesses in the system mean some savers are not getting value for money when it comes to their pensions, says the Office for Fair Trading (OFT). (Release) The OFT published a market study today and, in agreement with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has agreed a set of reforms to the £275bn market for defined contribution [...]
Bernanke’s legacy: The long-nosed Malayan tapir September 19, 2013 Ben Bernanke, governor of the Federal Reserve, will soon be leaving his role – amid investor and economist focus on how and when the Fed will taper. Tapering – or a reduction in the rate of expansion of the monetary base – was expected this month. Market watchers had been forecasting the announcement since June [...]
Retail sales drop unexpectedly in August September 19, 2013 UK retail sales have dropped by 0.9 per cent in August, a shrink where analysts had expected a 0.4 per cent growth. In the year to August, that's a 2.1 per cent rise, well below last month's three per cent, and short of economist forecasts of a jump to 3.3 per cent growth. Sadly, it [...]
More structural change for African Barrick Gold as new chief financial officer is appointed September 19, 2013 Mining company African Barrick Gold has appointed internal candidate Andrew Wray as chief financial officer. (Release) Wray's appointment comes a week after the sudden resignation of the company's chief operating officer, which was less than a month after the departure of its chief executive. Our mining reporter Suzie Neuwirth on the exit of the COO [...]
Left behind: Vodafone is the only stock down in the FTSE 100 after Fed rally September 19, 2013 London's leading index, the FTSE 100, opened up nearly 80 points higher this morning – and just one stock is in the red right now. An announcement from the US Federal Reserve that it will not be reducing the scale of it asset purchases – known as tapering – has sent stocks to record highs [...]