House price slide is worst since 1996
April 30, 2008 Posted by
House prices across the nation are now falling year-on-year for the first time in more than a decade, Nationwide Building Society said today.
The average price of a home in April dropped 1pc from a year earlier, and by 1.1pc compared with March. Read the rest of this entry »
Powergen’s German owner could build UK nuclear reactors
April 24, 2008 Posted by
E.ON, the German owner of British energy supplier Powergen, has signalled its intention to bid for a slice of the UK’s nuclear industry with a surprise announcement that it has chosen two companies that would help it design and build reactors. Read the rest of this entry »
Google shrugs off ad sales fear
April 18, 2008 Posted by
Google has reported market-beating results for the first three months of the year, easing worries of a slowdown in online advertising.
The owner of the most popular online search engine, said first-quarter profits rose to $1.31bn, up 30% from the same period a year ago.
Google boss Eric Schmidt said “innovation in search, ads, and apps” helped to boost earnings growth.
There have been fears that the firm was being hit by the slowing US economy.
Google said sales were up 42% to $5.19bn for the quarter ended 31 March. Read the rest of this entry »
Struggle for first-time buyers
April 17, 2008 Posted by
The housing boom of the last decade has priced many first-time buyers out of the property market, according to the charity Shelter.
The charity’s Roof Affordability Index found that the price of an average first-time property rose from £52,674 in 1997 to £159,494 last year.
The figures showed that buyers’ average income had become smaller compared with the price of a property.
Prices are now starting to fall, but mortgages have become harder to secure.
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7350968.stm
Oil hovers near $115 record high
Posted by
Oil prices are hovering close to $115 a barrel, having crossed the record mark on Thursday after a US inventory report raised concerns about supplies.
US light, sweet crude oil pulled back slightly to $114.97 in Asian trading from the previous day’s $115.21 high.
Brent crude hit an all-time peak of $112.83 before falling back slightly.
The weak dollar has helped to draw investors towards commodities, which are cheaper for foreign buyers because they are priced in the US currency.
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7351913.stm
