Finance Matters » pound http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters When Finance Matters Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:59:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Asian buyers take interest in London property market http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/11674/asian-buyers-take-interest-in-london-property-market/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/11674/asian-buyers-take-interest-in-london-property-market/#comments Thu, 26 May 2011 10:12:06 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=26064

According to Knight Frank LLP, 59% of new-build property in London has been acquired by Asian buyers in the six month period to April. This is up from 48% a year earlier as buyers seek alternatives from rocketing property prices in China and Singapore. The estate agent said Asian buyers are taking advantage of the [...]

]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/11674/asian-buyers-take-interest-in-london-property-market/feed/ 0 UK trade deficit widens in July http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/7188/uk-trade-deficit-widens-in-july/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/7188/uk-trade-deficit-widens-in-july/#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:07:49 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=21530 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit widened in July to a record high, as imports soared and exports fell. According to the ONS, the goods trade gap widened to £8.667 billion in July, up from £7.532 billion the previous month. The deficit was the biggest since the series [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/7188/uk-trade-deficit-widens-in-july/feed/ 0 UK industrial output in surprise fall in June http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6735/uk-industrial-output-in-surprise-fall-in-june/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6735/uk-industrial-output-in-surprise-fall-in-june/#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:23:19 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20978 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK industrial output fell unexpectedly in June. According to the ONS, output fell 0.5% on the month against forecasts of a 0.2% rise. However, the fall was attributed to a 6% decline in oil and gas output. Following the announcement, the pound lost fell half a cent [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6735/uk-industrial-output-in-surprise-fall-in-june/feed/ 0 S&P affirms “AAA” rating for UK http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6212/sp-affirms-%e2%80%9caaa%e2%80%9d-rating-for-uk/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6212/sp-affirms-%e2%80%9caaa%e2%80%9d-rating-for-uk/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:42:41 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20350 Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) today affirmed its “AAA” long-term rating on Britain but maintained its negative outlook on the long-term rating.
Following the news, the pound fell to $1.5017 from $1.5068.
Commenting on its announcement, S&P analysts Trevor Cullinan and David Beers, said: “The coalition government has set out what we view as a [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6212/sp-affirms-%e2%80%9caaa%e2%80%9d-rating-for-uk/feed/ 0 European shares down on banking concerns http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6010/european-shares-down-on-banking-concerns/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6010/european-shares-down-on-banking-concerns/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:13:46 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=20025 There are fresh concerns over the European banking sector after banks are scheduled to repay €442 billion (£362 billion) worth of loans to the European Central Bank (ECB) later this week.
Shares in Europe hit a three-week closing low today as a result. Furthermore, shares were hit by a sharp fall in US consumer confidence [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/6010/european-shares-down-on-banking-concerns/feed/ 0 Bank voted 7-1 to hold rates in June http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5876/bank-voted-7-1-to-hold-rates-in-june/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5876/bank-voted-7-1-to-hold-rates-in-june/#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:09:55 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=19890 Minutes of the Bank of England’s June meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-1 earlier this month to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5% – where they have been since March 2009.
The usual nine-strong committee comprised of only eight members this month [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5876/bank-voted-7-1-to-hold-rates-in-june/feed/ 0 Pound gains on dollar despite hung parliament http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5019/pound-gains-on-dollar-despite-hung-parliament/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5019/pound-gains-on-dollar-despite-hung-parliament/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 08:29:37 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=18809 Despite Friday’s general election result, which failed to give any political party a clear majority, sterling has gained on the US dollar today, while London’s FTSE recovered from the sharp falls on Friday.
The pound rose by nearly a cent against the dollar to $1.4865 but fell against the euro to 1.1510 euros.
The pound fell [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5019/pound-gains-on-dollar-despite-hung-parliament/feed/ 0 ABFA: Hung parliament bad for economy http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5014/abfa-hung-parliament-bad-for-economy/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5014/abfa-hung-parliament-bad-for-economy/#comments Sun, 09 May 2010 18:23:07 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=18798 Kate Sharp, chief executive of the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) believes last week’s hung parliament result could seriously hurt the UK’s economic recovery.
According to many experts, the hung parliament result means that it will be harder to pass legislation and undermine a fragile UK recovery.
Ms Sharp of ABFA comments: “The ABFA supports policy plans [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/5014/abfa-hung-parliament-bad-for-economy/feed/ 0 British exports see marginal rise http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/4021/british-exports-see-marginal-rise/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/4021/british-exports-see-marginal-rise/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:04:10 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=18190 Official data has revealed the value of British exports grew by just 0.05%, or £28 million, in the final three months of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier.
The figures were a surprise since a weak pound should make UK goods cheaper abroad.
Analysis of Government data by Close Treasury revealed that the [...]
]]> http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/4021/british-exports-see-marginal-rise/feed/ 0 UK factory output in surprise January fall http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2805/uk-factory-output-in-surprise-january-fall/ http://www.smoothlinking.net/financematters/2805/uk-factory-output-in-surprise-january-fall/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:25:37 +0000 Kay Murchie http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/?p=17414 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK industrial output unexpectedly fell in January – primarily due to the cold weather during the month.
According to the ONS, output fell by 0.4% in January compared with the previous month and represented the largest monthly fall since August.
Analysts had expected a 0.3% rise.
However, on an [...]
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