Mortgage approvals at a year high November 1, 2005 Bank of England data released yesterday sent out mixed messages, with mortgage approvals at their highest level in more than a year, but unsecured lending slowing down. Bank figures showed that house purchase approvals rose to 107,000 in September, up marginally from 106,000 in August. This puts mortgage approvals at their highest level since June [...]
Global growth to slow, says WTO October 28, 2005 A report by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has warned that the world faces a long-term trend of lower growth. Although global goods trade is predicted to grow slightly more than usual next year, the organisation’s director director general Pascal Lamy has warned that the world badly needs the successful resolution of the Doha world [...]
Killing the cure October 28, 2005 Some say British drugs companies should be able to profit in order to reinvest in newer drugs for the greater good. Some say their profits come on the back of scientific fraud. It is perhaps one of the great puzzles of British business. As a nation we spend less on medicines than our European neighbours, [...]
Five join the rush to AIM October 27, 2005 The rush of companies floating on AIM continues apace, with three companies making their debuts yesterday and two more announcing their IPOs on the junior market in the coming days. They join the growing number of companies quoting on AIM, where 389 firms have floated since the start of the year. In comparison, only 71 [...]
Jobs cutting will speed up, says CBI October 27, 2005 Manufactures expect to cut jobs over the next quarter at a faster rate than the last three months to October, according to the CBI. “The decline in headcount was broadly in line with expectations, though firms expect to cut jobs at a moderately faster rate over the next three months,” the business group announced in [...]
Debt crisis looms as home repossessions rise October 27, 2005 Fears that Britain is plunging towards a bad debt crisis were heightened yesterday as figures suggested proceedings to repossess homes have risen by 55 per cent. Actions begun by lenders rose to 29,991 in the three months to the end of September from 19,359 last year. There has been a 66 per cent rise in [...]
Bank warns of hard times October 26, 2005 Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned that the British economy is about to embark on a bumpy ride over the coming years after the stability enjoyed in recent times. At a hearing in front of a House of Lords parliamentary committee, King said people should not expect the Bank to “fine tune the [...]
Abbey makes moves on mortgages October 26, 2005 Abbey is to mount an assault on the British mortgage market by plugging into new business areas. The bank, which was taken over by Spanish group Santander for £8bn last year, wants to make up ground lost to its rivals in the areas of lending to buy-to-let investors, people wanting loans for new-build properties, and [...]
Amazon profits hit by increased competition October 26, 2005 Amazon, the online bookseller, last night unveiled a $30m (£16.8m) profit for the third quarter. Some of the gloss was taken off increased sales, however, as it admitted that a patent dispute had cost it $20m. Seattle-based Amazon made a one-off payment to settle a patent lawsuit in the third quarter. Its profit, otherwise, would [...]
Bush names Bernanke Fed chairman October 25, 2005 President George W Bush has nominated Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke was a bookies’ favourites, along with Republican stalwarts Martin Feldstein and Glenn Hubbard, both advisors to Ronald Reagan. A former economics professor at America’s elite Princeton University, Bernanke served as a Fed governor between 2002 and [...]