UK Home Prices Drop 0.2%; FTSE 100 Declined 6% in 2011

Arthi Gupta
30 Dec, 2011
New York City

The UK indexes gained but for the year plummeted 6%. The UK home prices dropped 0.2% on a monthly basis in December and housing equity injections slowed in the third quarter.

[R]2:00 PM London – The UK indexes gained but for the year plummeted 6%. The UK home prices dropped 0.2% on a monthly basis in December and housing equity injections slowed in the third quarter.[/R]

The UK indexes gained in a shortened trading session today as markets in European Union declined as the euro worries destabilize world economic growth.

The Confederation of British Industry in a new report featuring a ‘Vision for rebalancing the economy’ stated the UK can move away from its dependence on debt driven household and government spending and increase business investment and net trade.

In London, FTSE 100 Index gained 5.51 or 0.1% to 5,572.28 and the pound edged higher to $1.5490. For the year, the FTSE 100 index plunged 5.6% after rising 9% in 2010.

UK Home Prices Drop

The UK home prices dropped 0.2% on a monthly basis in December after a 0.4% growth in November, the Nationwide Building Society said today. Price of a typical home was £163,822 in December compared with £165,798 in November.

On an annual comparison, home prices rose 1% in December, slower than the 1.6% gain in November.

Furthermore, Nationwide forecasted that the UK housing market activity is likely to remain subdued next year given the tight labor market conditions.

UK Housing Equity Injections Fall

UK homeowners injected £8.56 billion housing equity in the third quarter compared to the second quarter''s revised £9.6 billion injection, data from the Bank of England showed on Friday.

Gainers & Losers

DS Smith Plc gained 1.2% to 198 pence after the recycled packaging company confirmed that disposal of Spicers to Unipapel SA. The enterprise value for Spicers is £200 million and net proceeds, after tax and related costs, are around £160 million.

eServGlobal Ltd. plunged 6.3% to 22.25 pence after the mobile money solutions and value-added services provider reported loss for the four months ended October was $9.3 million or 4.7 cents per share.

Hot Tuna (International) Plc plummeted 40.4% to 0.07 pence after the surfwear brand reported revenue for the year ended June 30, 2011 was £207,000 compared with £464,000 in the previous year. Loss before tax in the period narrowed to £768,000 compared to a loss of £1.3 million the year before.

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc fell 0.6% to 689.50 pence after the holding company said its wholly owned subsidiary JLT Insurance Brokers (Ireland) Ltd. acquired FBD Insurance Brokers Ltd, an insurance broker based in Ireland, from FBD Holdings plc.

The deal is worth an initial €6.75 million, with possible additional payments of up to €1.75 million.