Finance Tart

Official UK inflation figures released today are expected to show that the rapid slowing of recent months is easing

European equities markets were lower Monday, with the FTSE 100 1.46 percent lower to 4,645.01 in London, while the FTSE 250 fell 2.84 percent to 8,274.09.
Drug maker Shire (LSE: SHP) turned in the best performance of the day on the 100 as it added 2.21 percent and GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) also was among the top [...]

The average asking price of a UK home fell in August, after nudging up 0.6% in July.
Vendors shaved a typical £5,102, or 2.2%, off their ambitions as they adjusted to lower seasonal demand.
The decline took the average asking price back to £222,762, compared to £227,864 in July, although London saw a steeper slide at 3.8%, [...]

The Government announced earlier this year it was planning to split nationalised Northern Rock into two divisions – a deposit bank and a mortgage platform.
However, the proposals have met with criticism from the Building Societies Association (BSA) saying that the split would put building societies at a big disadvantage.
Northern Rock collapsed at the onset [...]

Budget airline Ryanair is to close or switch nine of its 10 routes from Manchester airport, citing the airport’s refusal to lower its charges.
The measures will lead to 600 job losses within the area and the loss of 60,000 passengers a year.
However, Manchester airport highlighted that the 600 jobs will be switched to other airports.
Passengers [...]

The excessive bonus culture, a subject which has dominated the news this year, rears its head again after Chancellor Alistair Darling has responded to calls for a new commission to restrict bonus payments.
Bank bonuses, in particular, have sparked public anger and have been the subject of heavy criticism since it is banks that are being [...]