UK house prices: Mortgage lending enjoys best first quarter in nine years despite March dip April 14, 2016 Mortgage lending enjoyed its best first quarter in nine years thanks to buy-to-let landlords rushing to beat April's stamp duty hike, according to new figures published this morning. An average of 71,710 house purchase loans were approved in the first three months of the year, the data from surveyors e.surv shows – making it the highest opening [...]
House prices: London’s first time buyers will need £106,000 salary to afford an average home by 2020, warns Shelter April 14, 2016 Londoners looking to buy their first home will need to earn over £100,000 a year by 2020, research by housing and homelessness charity Shelter has found. The study said this was an increase over the quarter on the £80,000 needed for a typical first time buyer’s mortgage today. On top of this, first-time buyers will also need an [...]
Chicago Mercantile Exchange operator to wave goodbye to New York trading floor by the end of the year April 13, 2016 They say that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere but the Chicago Mercantile Exchange operator has decided it's better off without a certain part of New York. CME Group announced today that it would be closing the doors to its New York trading floor on 30 December 2016. In a short [...]
At the close: FTSE pushed higher by banks and miners, as Tesco and Premier Foods fall April 13, 2016 Banks and miners moved the FTSE 100 higher today as data from China reassured investors over growth in the world’s second largest economy, adding more than 100 points to the index’s rise. The FTSE 100 ended the day at its highest for four months at 6,362.89 points, up 120.50 points, or 1.9 per cent. Tesco shed [...]
Premier Foods’ under fire from top shareholder over collapsed bid talks with McCormick April 13, 2016 Premier Foods' third biggest shareholder has slammed the company for failing to recommend McCormick's 65p per share offer to the board, after its American suitor walked away today. Paulson & Co, a US hedge fund that owns a seven per cent stake in Premier and has already locked horns with the company over its handling of the [...]
The Co-operative Group eyes sale of 300 food stores to focus on convenience April 13, 2016 Around 300 Co-operative food stores could face the axe as part of plans to shed its larger shops and focus on expanding its more profitable convenience business. The mutual, which has over 2,800 stores throughout the UK, is understood to have hired bankers at Rothschild to find buyers for the stores to help raise funds to spruce up the rest of its [...]
Global shale gas market expected to hit $214bn by 2022 April 13, 2016 The world's shale gas market could swell to $214bn (£150.2) in just a few years time. This would come as global shale gas grows at an annual compound rate of 14.4 per cent from 2015 to 2022, according to the report by Allied Market Research. Similarly, the world's thirst for shale gas is expected to increase at an annual [...]
World’s biggest private coal miner Peabody files for bankruptcy protection in the US April 13, 2016 The World's biggest private coal producer, Peabody, has been forced to file for bankruptcy protection in the US, amid what it described as a historically difficult business environment. The move will help it shore up liquidity and whittle down its debt, which was $6.3bn (£4.4bn) at the end of 2015, the firm said as it made a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. [...]
Fresnillo share price rises as gold output sparkles April 13, 2016 Fresnillo shares ticked up today, after the precious metals miner said it's on course to meet production targets this year. The London-listed company's shares rose as much as two per cent to 1,012p this morning, before settling back down to 1,008p later in the day. Fresnillo reported gold production shot up 26 per cent to 230,0000 ounces in the first quarter [...]
Opec flags less oil demand growth ahead of freeze meeting April 13, 2016 The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) predicts global oil demand will be less than previously thought this year. Opec cut its forecast for world oil demand growth by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in its closely watched monthly report released today. It also warned there could be further downward revisions due to a slowdown in the emerging market economies, [...]
