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House prices: Rises may start to slow, surveyors say

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:14:04 +0000

Further rises in house prices may be held back by more properties coming on to the market, surveyors have said.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says new instructions outpaced inquiries from new buyers in February.

It was the second month in a row that this had happened.

The rise in house prices during the past year has been attributed by many commentators to a shortage of stock for sale.

Despite the suggestion that the balance between buyers and sellers may be changing, Rics still found more surveyors reporting rising prices than falling prices last month.

“There was a resumption of interest in the housing market following the fall that took place in January, which was due partly to the extreme weather conditions during that month and the reversion back to the previous stamp duty regime,” said Rics spokesman Jeremy Leaf.

“The magnitude of the gains going forward is likely to continue to ease, reflecting the fact that new supply coming on to the market is starting to outstrip fresh demand.”

Prices

Rics said it was the first time in two years that new sale instructions had outstripped inquiries from would-be buyers in a sustained manner.

The actual level of sales recorded by its members was still hampered last month by the knock-on effect of the cold weather.

As a result, the number of sales per Rics member remained at 1.4 per week.

“Surveyors still expect sales to increase, indicating that the recent drop in transactions is a reflection of recent adverse weather conditions,” said Rics.

In the course of 2009 prices rose by 5%, according to the surveys published by two of the major mortgage lenders, the Halifax and the Nationwide.

Both reported a dip in prices in February, which they blamed on the recent very cold weather and on a rush by buyers to push their purchases through before the restoration of the old stamp duty threshold in December.

Rics suggested that this would be just temporary.

“Activity is expected to rise over the coming months after the recent lull with surveyors also anticipating that prices will continue to edge upwards,” said Mr Leaf.

–BBC News–

US budget deficit hits record $221bn

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:04:16 +0000

The US government recorded a budget deficit of $221bn (£147.6bn) in February – the largest monthly deficit in its history.

The total deficit since the beginning of the fiscal year in October now stands at $651.6bn, the figures from the US treasury show.

That puts it on track to beat last year’s record annual budget deficit of $1.4tn.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called the deficit “unsustainable”.

However, he maintained that running the deficit was helping the US continue its recovery from the recession in the short-term.

Like the UK, the US is suffering from a fall in tax receipts due to tough economic conditions, while relying on increased spending to drive the recovery.

But analysts called the figures “frightening”.

Earlier this year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said it expected the budget deficit to fall this year as the recovery takes hold.

–BBC News–

Toyota recalls: company rejects electronics concerns

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:01:42 +0000

Toyota has rejected claims that faulty electronics are behind its worldwide recall of more than eight million cars.

The company said mechanical faults with accelerator pedals and floor mats were the cause of the problems, rather than the car’s electronics.

Outside studies have recently criticised Toyota’s electronic safety systems.

But at a press conference on Monday, Toyota rejected those findings as not credible.

Last month, the US Congress heard from a Southern Illinois University engineer David Gilbert, who said that Toyota’s electronic safety systems could be rewired to allow the car to unintentionally accelerate.

But Toyota said a review of the findings by a Stanford University expert found no “real-world” evidence of an electronic flaw.

Chris Gerdes, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford, said that the researchers had essentially rewired the car’s electronics to create the problem – something that could not happen in real life.

“We’re confident in our electronic throttle control systems,” a spokesman for Toyota said.

US authorities are currently investigating reports of persisting problems in Toyotas even after they have been recalled.

Toyota said these incidents were due to poor repair work, rather than a different underlying problem.

–BBC News–

Sales to be in focus when Wal-Mart reports results

Winter weather insurance claims hit £650m

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:54:02 +0000

Insurers paid out £650m from 335,000 claims made as a result of damage caused by the wintry weather in the UK.

The biggest chunk of the payout was made to motorists who damaged vehicles on the slippery roads, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said.

January 2010 was the eighth coldest on record for the UK – the worst since 1987.

The bad weather hit businesses and consumers with sectors including retail and the housing market suffering.

Claims

The ABI said that the winter weather cost insurers £650m for claims made in the UK from 18 December to 13 January.

Homes, vehiclesand businesses were all damaged as a result of the winter weather.

Specifically, £395m has been paid out to motorists. Many of the 268,400 motor insurance claims were for accidental damage caused to vehicles.

They included a claim from David Balfour, of Grangemouth, central Scotland, who suffered two accidents in the space of a few days.

The IT engineer, who has completed an advanced driving test, said he was travelling at 15mph when he lost control of his van which slid off the road and hit a small wall.

He was disappointed that he could not claim against the local authority which he believed had not done enough to grit the roads.

“I have not had an accident for a lot of years, but now this is a black mark against my name,” he said, fearing a rise in premiums.

A few days later he was driving, with his wife and one-year-old daughter also in the car, when their Jaguar was damaged by potholes.

This time they decided to pay for the repair themselves rather than claim on insurance.

Homes

The ABI said that there were also 66,600 claims from homeowners and business owners for damage to property – double the number of weather damage claims insurers said they would expect during this period.

This led to a payout of £255m, of which £194m was for damage to homes. Many of the 60,200 claims came as a result of roof damage.

“Insurers have paid out nearly £1bn to customers following bad weather this winter, as the heavy snow came weeks after the flooding in Cumbria,” said Nick Starling, of the ABI.

The ABI speaks for 90% of the insurance market in the UK.

–BBC–

Cathay Pacific returns to profit

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:50:32 +0000

Cathay Pacific, one of Asia’s biggest airlines, has reported a return to full-year profit as cost cutting and bets on the price of fuel paid off.

Net profit for 2009 came in at $4.7bn Hong Kong dollars ($606m; £405m), compared with a loss of 8.7bn Hong Kong dollars in 2008.

Fuel hedging in particular helped the airline to offset a fall in revenue of almost a quarter over the period.

Despite the profit, Cathay said it was cautious about prospects for 2010.

Fuel costs

“The global economic slump last year resulted in extremely challenging business conditions for Cathay Pacific Group and commercial aviation in general,” the airline said.

It reported an increase in passenger numbers and cargo business in the second half of the year, but said this was not enough to affect “sharply reduced revenues” for the full-year.

“In addition, the cost of fuel, which rose steadily from the middle of 2009, remains stubbornly high and threatens to undermine profitability,” chairman Christopher Pratt said.

Global airlines struggled last year as individuals and businesses cut back on flying during the downturn.

According to the International Air Transport Association (Iata), 2009 saw the biggest decline in air passenger traffic in the post-war era.

It estimated that airlines collectively lost $11bn (£7.4bn).

–BBC–

Chile’s earthquake ‘may cost insurers up to $7bn’

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:48:22 +0000

The earthquake in Chile may cost the global insurance industry as much as $7bn (£4.7bn), Swiss Re has estimated.

The company, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, said the impact on the sector would between $4bn and $7bn.

Swiss Re said its own losses from last month’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake would total about $500m.

Chile’s outgoing government has said it will take the country up to four years to recover, but economists say Chile is well placed to do this.

Another reinsurance company, Germany’s Munich Re, has also said how much it estimates it will have to pay out as a result of the Chilean earthquake – $543m.

Munich Re said it still expected to report a profit of more than 2bn euros ($2.7bn; £1.8bn) this year.

Analysts said that while the losses were large, they were probably not sufficient to reverse recent falls in the prices reinsurance companies charge insurance firms to cover natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes.

“Although it will almost certainly lead to a change in reinsurance prices for business in that region, it is not an industry-changing event on its own,” said Helvea analyst Tim Dawson.

Reinsurance companies allow insurance firms to reduce their risk and exposure.

Stable economy

Chile is regarded as having one of the best-run economies in Latin America.

Led by its substantial copper production – which was relatively unaffected by the quake – economists predict the country’s economy will still grow by 5% this year.

The country also has one of the lowest government debt to economic output ratios in Latin America.

Chile’s inflation rate is currently at 1.5% and its interest rate is 0.5%, where it has been since August of last year.

Chile’s President-elect Sebastian Pinera will take control of the country’s earthquake recovery work when he takes office on Thursday.

He is preparing an emergency bill and a reconstruction law, saying the country’s 2010 budget will be “adjusted to reflect our needs and the reality on the ground”.

–Bbc.co.uk–

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admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:11:15 +0000

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