UK Mortgage Approvals Rise, Home Retail Plunges 11%

Arthi Gupta
02 May, 2012
New York City

The UK indexes dropped after mortgage approvals rose in March. UK construction activity eased but Irish jobless rate remained flat in April. BSkyB said nine month revenues and profit rose and distanced its self from Murdoch family. Home Retail plunged 11% on weak full year performance.

[R]3:05 PM London – The UK indexes dropped after mortgage approvals rose in March. UK construction activity eased but Irish jobless rate remained flat in April. BSkyB said nine month revenues and profit rose and distanced its self from Murdoch family. Home Retail plunged 11% on weak full year performance.[/R]

The UK indexes dropped after mortgage approvals rose in March but construction activity eased in April.

In London, the benchmark index FTSE 100 declined 49.64 or 0.9% to 5,762.39 and the pound edged lower to $1.6172.

UK Mortgage Approvals Rise

UK mortgage approvals rose to 49,860 in March compared to 49,029 in February, the Bank of England said today.

Total lending to individuals rose £1.4 billion on a monthly basis in March compared to the £1.3 billion increase in February.

Separately, M4 money supply dropped 5% annually in March compared to a 4.1% fall in February. On a monthly basis, M4 money supply fell 0.8% in March, following the 1.9% drop in February.

UK Construction Sector Activity Eases

UK construction companies indicated a continued recovery in business activity and new order inflows in April, again led by work on commercial projects, according to data from a survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply released today.

The seasonally adjusted purchasing managers'' index for the construction sector dropped to 55.8 in April from 56.7 in March, the highest reading in twenty-one months.

In another report, U.K. business managers in the private sector expect longer-term outlook to improve, a report released by the Chartered Management Institute showed today. The number of managers expecting growth to accelerate more than doubled to 17% from 8% six months ago.

Irish Jobless Rate Flat

Ireland''s unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 14.3% in April, data released by the Central Statistics Office showed. In February, the jobless rate was 14.4%.

Gainers & Losers

British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc rose 2% to 705 pence after the satellite broadcaster reported nine-month revenue increased 5% to £5.1 billion from £4.8 million a year ago. For the nine-month period, pre-tax profit grew 27.5% to £899 million from £705 million last year.

The company also made an unusual statement distancing from Murdoch family and said it is “fit” and meets all regulatory requirements after the latest report from the UK parliamentary panel blasted Rupert Murdoch and three former executives for making misleading statements.

Bunzl plc fell 0.8% to 1,040 pence after the international distribution and outsourcing group completed three acquisitions in the United States, Israel and Australia.

Home Retail Group Plc plunged 11.1% to 89.75 pence after the home and general merchandise retailer reported for the 53 weeks to March 3, sales fell 5% to £5,583 million and benchmark profit before tax dropped 54% to £116 million.

The company said its board is not recommending a final dividend and it also issued an uncertain outlook for fiscal 2013.

Standard Chartered Plc slumped 4% to 1,452 pence after the lender said first quarter operating profit increased in low double digit rate from a year earlier.