British and Dutch investors turned to Iceland a few years ago, attracted by savings account deposit rates that were competitive with equity investment returns. It was an amazing situation, and the money just seemed too easy.

Then, Iceland got the sort of IMF loan that is normally reserved for countries like Somalia, and the Brits and Dutch worried that they'd never get their money back from an investment as supposedly safe as a savings account.

Continue reading Iceland Voters Resist Debt Repayment

Iceland Voters Resist Debt Repayment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Leave it to the lawyers to build a better mousetrap with an iPhone. In the United Kingdom, solicitors Bott & Co found a new question to which the answer is: "There's an app for that." The Car Accident Assistant is the firm's latest contribution to humanity and is available for download from Apple's (AAPL) iTunes environment. If you're in a car accident, you can use the application to connect to the law firm's 24-hour accident help system.

As the ol' infomercial guys love to say, "But, wait! There's more!"

The Car Accident Assistant can be used to help the afflicted collect information about the accident, including vehicles and location. And, you can even take pictures of the accident and gather info from witnesses. It's like having a lawyer in your phone!

Continue reading In an car accident? There's an app for that

In an car accident? There's an app for that originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Recession or not, people can't walk around naked ... especially not in the United Kingdom. (Iceland in summer? Fair game.) Marks & Spencer Group Plc (London: MKS:UK), the largest clothing retailer in the country, just sustained its smallest drop in sales in nearly two years thanks to some savvy deals (offered to consumers) and warm weather. After making their dollars pounds stretch for so long, shoppers were finally ready for a bit of style.

Revenue declined a modest 1.4% for the year so far, much better than the 2.5% average estimate offered by 16 analysts. This was good enough to push M&S shares up 4%. If all goes well, same store sales may start to increase soon, which means that a full recovery will be right around the corner. Same store sales have fallen for the past seven quarters, and company cut its dividend for the first time in almost a decade.

The discounts that helped lead to the recent M&S sales performance are responsible for 18% of the company's food sales (which are down 0.5% on for same store) - much better than the 2.4% estimate. General merchandise fell only 2.4%, beating the 3.5% projection handily.

M&S celebrates not-so-bad result originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Early estimates of a contraction in the U.K. economy were not enough. First quarter 2009 estimates were revisited, showing a 2.4% fall in gross domestic product from the last quarter of 2008 to 2009. This downward revision made the first three months of the year the worst since people wore skinny ties, hated communism, and bore nicknames like "Buzz."

In the second quarter of 1958, U.K. GDP plummeted 2.6%, though the 2.4% threshold matches the depths hit in 1979. The original 2009 Q1 estimate was -1.9%, according to the Office for National Statistics in London.

Continue reading U.K. economy has worst quarter since 1958

U.K. economy has worst quarter since 1958 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Retail sales took an unexpected downward turn in May in the United Kingdom -- for first time in three months. Cautious banks appear to be the problem, as their rationing of credit is impeding broader economic recovery. Retail sales fell 0.6% from the previous month, while economists had predicted a 0.3% change in the other direction.

Year-over-year, retail sales were off 1.6%. Sales for the year are down 1.1%, the greatest decline since score-keeping began in 1988. Of course, there's plenty of fodder for rationalizing the results. The annual change was affected by an "unusually large" retail sales estimate for May 2008. Clothing, textile, and footwear retailers and department stores led the plunge, with nonfood store sales off 1.4%, compared to a 0.3% increase in food retail sales.

Continue reading Banks putting pressure on UK retail sales

Banks putting pressure on UK retail sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Falling property prices have pushed equities lower for the past nine months, constrained credit and ... forced British couples to stay married?

According to a study by accounting firm Grant Thornton, divorce filings have fallen precipitously in the United Kingdom. Fallout from the worldwide financial crisis has made it harder for couples to sell a jointly owned home and impairs the ability for each soon-to-be-ex-partner to start and sustain an individual lifestyle.

The U.K. Office for National Statistics put the number of divorce filings at 12.2 per 1,000 marriages in 2006 and 11.9 in 2007 -- a 26-year low.

Continue reading Real estate drop keeps marriages together

Real estate drop keeps marriages together originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See all 20.

Whatever you do, don't tell my mom about John Webber. He's an English guy who had hung onto a cup that his junk dealer grandfather bought in the 1930s. One day he took it out from under the bed and decided to get it examined. It turns out to be made of gold, about 1,700 years old, and decorated with the face of a Roman god. He got $100,000 at auction.

The reason I don't want you to tell my mom about this guy is that this is exactly the scenario she thinks will happen with every mug she has ever bought at a garage sale, each "collectible" she keeps stashed in cabinets and even the old eight-track player that she cannot be persuaded is worthless. It's stories like Webber's that keep houses full of junk.

Also, Webber is now in his 70s. I don't know what his family or financial situation is. I'm sure he could use $100,000. Who couldn't? But I'm also pretty sure that the money would've made a bigger difference in his life if he had examined the cup when he was saving for a house, sending a kid to school, or starting a business.

Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2008.

Money winners of 2008: John Webber and the gold cup under the bed originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Is BT's offer to save Britain's red phone boxes for £500 fair?

Is BT's offer to save Britain's red phone boxes for £500 fair? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading JPMorgan Chase taps Tony Blair for advice

JPMorgan Chase taps Tony Blair for advice originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bloomberg reported, "Marks and Spencer shares slid as much as 21 percent after Marks said today that revenue fell 2.2 percent at stores open at least a year in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 29, the first same-store sales drop in 2 1/2 years. The median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for growth of 1.1 percent."

Oof. That's almost a -3.5% surprise to the downside.

U.K.'s Marks & Spencer down hard on poor holiday sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week on BloggingStocks, I wrote about Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA)'s foray into social networking, and wondered whether it would help the company to launch itself out of the doldrums.

Michael Schneider of www.barrelomoney.com left a comment to let me know that he thinks the company is already launching itself out of the doldrums:

Playboy, in our view has already started a substantial turnaround that has set the company of the right course. they have added many new sources of revenue and have strengthened the brand. Recent results are telling as many print media companies are floundering and competitors like New frontier turned in weak results.

But the stock isn't showing evidence of this turnaround -- which is good. If the company really is turning itself around, the stock could present an opportunity for investors.

Now we have the latest evidence of Playboy moving in a new direction: It's opening a store in London, establishing a presence that has been missing there for the past 25 years. Playboy is also looking at opening a casino in London.

There's been a lot of evidence lately that Playboy is at least trying to reinvent itself and become relevant again. If you think it has a chance, you may want to look at buying the stock.

Playboy (PLA) returns to London -- Is the stock making a comeback too? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Her Majesty Britney: will Spears be Prince William's newest love? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.