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House sellers' asking prices have soared to a new high in a further sign that confidence is returning to the market, a property website has reported today. There has been a 2.1 per cent month-on-month rise which pushed average prices to £249,841 in May, Rightmove has revealed, with new record prices set in London, the South East, and East Anglia. It marks the strongest start to a year for asking prices since 2004, with average prices rising by more than £20,000 so far in 2013. New highs: Average asking prices in London (pictured) breached the £500,000 mark for the first time as the national average soared. Prices in London broke then half a million pound milestone for the first time, standing at £509,870 - more than double the national average and an 8.6 per cent rise on a year ago. The biggest month-on-month rise took place in the north, increasing by 4.2 per cent to a typical price of £152,689, while East Anglia rose by four per cent to £233,447.   More... On the hunt fo

  We've teamed up with The Share Centre to offer you an easy way to buy and sell and other stock market investments online. Benefits include: • a safe, secure and accessible home for your investments. • free advice from a team of expert investment advisers – call them on 01296 41 46 42 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm) or email at thisismoney@share.co.uk. • online access to your investments 24/7 plus a six monthly statement detailing your investments and activity over the previous period • compile a Stock Watch list - this enables you to track the progress of the companies you are considering investing in.   New user?       Sign-up for an account            Existing user?       Log into your account               There's no signing-up fee – it costs just £12.50 every time you trade (plus stamp duty, PTM levy of £1 on trades of £10,000+ and a £7.50 additional charge for selling share certificates).   Related tools and services: - Buy a fund with ou

On the eve of the 166th Grand National at Aintree in Liverpool, the most prestigious steeplechase in the horse-racing calendar, Ladbrokes pulled up lame. of Britain’s second biggest bookie fell 15.5p to 207.5p after Deutsche downgraded to hold from buy, but that was not the only reason some nervy investors decided to dismount. Rumours from the paddock of late have suggested that chief executive Richard Glynn could be interested in bidding for Betfair (22.5p easier at 690p), the world’s largest internet betting exchange. If so, followers fear he could overpay. Ladbrokes was the first bookie to offer interactive betting over the internet and has had a website since the football World Cup in 1998. Recently it has seen its biggest rival William Hill, 8.6p lower at 373.4p, grab all the headlines with the joint £485m acquisition, with sportsbook provider GVC, of Sportingbet. It has bolted on the online betting company’s thriving Australian business to its own international offerin

When your biggest fan is Warren Buffett, affectionately known as the Sage of Omaha and widely considered to be the world’s most successful investor, what else is there to worry about? He already sits on 5.1 per cent of Tesco’s equity and speculation is rife that he has been bidding UK institutions for stock, with a view to increase his shareholding to 10 per cent. That helped of the UK’s number one supermarket rise 5.1p to 374.275p on meaty turnover of 13m. A Daily Mail exclusive on Saturday revealed Tesco boss Philip Clarke and his management team are expected to miss out on their annual bonuses following a disappointing year in which group profits are set to fall for the first time in 20 years. In January 2012, Buffett spent £480m on Tesco’s shares at 323p, upping his stake to 5.08 per cent from 3.2 per cent, after it announced its first profits warning in living memory. It prompted the biggest one-day fall in stock since 1988. Buffet is sitting on a big return on his ori

The London Stockmarket is an unforgiving place. Just ask Geoff Wild, chief executive of former glamour stock, AZ Electronic Materials. The company that makes the chemicals that coat the flat-screens for Samsung televisions and Apple iPads and iPhones, as well as microchips, had more than £415m wiped off its market value and Wild was looking at a painful £1m-plus paper loss on his shareholding, following a shock profits warning. of the Luxembourg-based group, which had risen 25 per cent over the past year, crashed to 235p before closing 129p, or 35 per cent, down at a 52-week low of 240p as investors sprinted for the exit on hearing that profits will be below normal levels this year. AZ said that lower-than-expected sales – down 7 per cent – at its IC materials business in the first-quarter were compounded by increased pressure from dual sourcing by some customers. Broker UBS stated that the company is now facing some company-specific challenges and given the reset required

British engineering firm Invensys featured in one of the most fascinating corporate deals of 2012 when it sold its UK signalling division to German giant Siemens for £1.74bn, which at the time was equivalent to the group’s total market capitalisation. The out-of-the-blue deal left the market shell-shocked and the group ‘in play’ to a takeover. Shareholders were happy as Larry though as they could look forward to a cash hand out of 76.7p per share. Yesterday, buyers chased Invensys up to 368p on hearing that US activist hedge fund ValueAct Capital has amassed an 8 per cent stake, before it closed 6.4p higher at 364.8p. Dealers are convinced that things are hotting up and hot gossip now is that French electrical equipment group Schneider Electric is working on a £4bn, or £5 a share, cash offer for the company. With Sir Nigel Rudd as chairman, anything is possible. He has been on the board of several companies that have eventually succumbed to a foreign takeover. Expectations

Not for the first time in recent months, professional punters were suddenly mad about Afren. of the Africa-focused oil explorer gushed 7p to 134.1p on revived talk of a £2.1bn, or 195p a share, cash offer from Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest energy company. Afren is attractive as it has a good mix of production and exploration and its geographical footprint ranges from its Nigeria roots across Ghana and Kurdistan. Analysts say it offers exposure to some of the most exciting prospective areas in the world. Afren has an active exploration drilling campaign underway and expects final results from the Jebel Simrit-2 testing programme in Kurdistan during May. It has plans to drill 14 wells during 2013, including four key wells across East Africa. All the major oil and liquefied natural gas groups are looking to acquire assets in the East African region. ExxonMobil, the largest of the world’s supermajors with daily production of 3.921m barrels of oil equivalent, has the financia

As Europe’s biggest bank HSBC advanced 21.1p to 735p on better-than-expected first-quarter profits, its name was being mentioned as a possible buyer of BinckBank. of the Dutch online discount broker climbed around 3 per cent to a 52-week high of €6.20 amid growing speculation of a bid approach north of €9 a share. BinckBank offers a full service online banking facility for investors and is ranked in the top five in Europe. It has struggled in recent years and, at the current price, would now be a perfect bolt-on for any industry player. Apart from HSBC, BinckBank’s major 10 per cent shareholder Delta Lloyd has been sniffing around and is now gearing up to make a move. Buying ahead of today’s update on trading for the three months to the end of March 2013, helped international bank Standard Chartered jump 43p to 1700p. Shore Capital is bullish and says Standard remains an attractive long-term investment owing to the company’s focus on high growth markets and its strong balan

Rumours that a super-heavyweight industry neighbour in Algeria could soon be knocking on its door before it gets the chance to move from the junior AIM market to a main listing in June helped Ireland-based upstream oil and gas explorer Petroceltic International close 0.45p or 7 per cent higher at 6.875p. Dealers heard gossip that oil giant BP, 3p better at 468.55p, which has a natural gas facility in Algeria next door to Petroceltic’s world-class Ain Tsila gas project, is ready to ‘mop up’ Petroceltic in a deal which would value it at around £600m – or more than double the current share price. When Petroceltic merged with Melrose Resources last October, the deal combined the development of its gas field in Algeria with a high-impact exploration programme. The enlarged group plans to drill nine wells in 18 months, two of them in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, and are targeting 500m barrels of oil. Petroceltic recently announced a financing agreement for up to £327m with a

There are only 29 trading days left until former Goldman Sachs investment banker Mark Carney steps into the Bank of England Governor’s shoes and the UK market continues to fly. Rampaging bulls believe the Canadian could arrive in the City of London in time to celebrate a new milestone for the fabulous Footsie. They are confident that the elite index will join other European bourses and soon breach the all-time high of 6,950.60, which was attained on December 30, 1999. It hasn’t got much further to go. It yesterday closed above 6,700 for the first time since October 2007, rising 35.26 points to 6,723.06, only 3.3 per cent below the peak. It has soared 13.4 per cent so far this year after its 6.5 per cent increase in 2012. Wall Street initially traded 58 points higher and has jumped more than 16 per cent this year. The Federal Reserve’s purchases of $85bn a month in bonds has been a significant driver of the strong rally in equities which has seen the Street of Dreams achieve

All chief executives dream of taking their company into the stratosphere, but Avanti boss David Williams has gone much further than that. His firm is the proud owner of two satellites, Hylas 1 and Hylas 2, in orbit above the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. They provide coverage to 70 countries on three continents, beaming everything from high-definition television to broadband signals into hard-to-reach areas with minimal ground infrastructure. Stratospheric: Avanti, which was worth £9,000 when Williams joined, is today valued at £340million Avanti’s third satellite, Hylas 3, is due to hitch a ride on the Ariane 5 rocket, launching from French Guiana in 2015 in partnership with the European Space Agency. ‘I was two months old when the lunar landing happened and it figured large in my childhood,’ says Williams. ‘For my generation space was a very big thing and I gravitated towards the Star Wars films.’   More... CITY INTERVIEW: The Metro maverick who's teaching new tricks to

A Canadian-led consortium targeting Severn Trent is set to raise its £5billion offer for the water company after an initial approach was rebuffed last week. It has until June 11 to submit a fresh bid under UK takeover rules, giving it time to see full-year results from Severn and the rest of the industry before deciding on a new figure. The consortium, led by Canada’s Borealis Infrastructure pension fund, includes Kuwait’s Investment Office and Britain’s Universities Superannuation Scheme. Foreign predator: A Canadian-led consortium is targeting Severn Trent Severn , which rose 18 per cent when news of the deal leaked last week, closed at £20.50. Sources noted that the shares had soared over the past six months amid take- over speculation, which boosted the value of all the remaining listed water firms.   More... SIMON WATKINS: Let's end foreign raids on our valuable infrastructure assets Water provider Severn Trent rejects 'too low' £5billion takeover bid by co

Ocado chairman: Sir Stuart Rose Ocado chairman Sir Stuart Rose – the former chief executive of Marks & Spencer – has seen his wealth jump by £1.5million  after the delivery group’s deal  with Morrisons. leapt 25 per cent on  Friday after an agreement to help the supermarket set up an online grocery delivery service was announced. Rose owns 1.2million shares in Ocado, including the 450,000 he gained as part of his appointment as chairman on March 11. Shares had been edging higher  in expectation of a deal and  the jump means Rose has  made more money in his  first two months at Ocado  than his annual salary at M&S.   More... Morrisons agrees 25-year deal with Ocado and internet grocer's shares soar 36 per cent Ocado pulls off retail coup with appointment of ex-M&S supremo Sir Stuart Rose as chairman Under the 25-year, £170million deal, Morrisons has taken control of Ocado’s second distribution centre in Dordon, Warwickshire, and will use Ocado’s comput

Foreign predator: A Canadian-led consortium is targeting Severn Trent It may be only a matter of time before Severn Trent, like many other water companies, falls into the hands of an overseas owner, with a Canadian-led takeover consortium expected to make an improved offer within the month. The attempt by a consortium led by a Canadian pension fund highlights an extraordinary mismatch between our own pension funds’ investment strategies and the critical and valuable infrastructure assets of Britain. Canadian pension funds have been active buyers of UK assets for some time. Anglian Water is already part-owned by one and in 2011 Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan even bought Britain’s National Lottery operator, Camelot. The chief executive of one £100billion-plus Canadian pension fund once told me that he foresaw a bonanza of opportunities in Britain for funds such as his and expected to see little or no competition from native funds. The simple reason was that UK funds lacked scale an

Questions: Amazon faced criticism after its UK accounts showed very low levels of reported sales and profits here Amazon is paying just 4.5 per cent tax on its European profits after directing its sales through the tax haven of Luxembourg, accounts seen by The Mail on Sunday show. Last week the internet retail giant faced criticism after its UK accounts showed very low levels of reported sales and profits here, despite British consumers accounting for about half its sales in Europe. The Luxembourg figures, unearthed by MoS, confirm suspicions that official British profits are a tiny proportion of full profits, and that by shifting earnings to the Continent, Amazon is avoiding a much higher tax bill. Accounts filed at Luxembourg’s companies register show the group paid €2.2million (£1.8million) in tax on total profits of €49million from its European online sales. The rate is a fraction of the 24 per cent it would be liable to pay if it registered the profits in Britain.   More.

Praise: Marks and Spencer's sew womenswear boss Belinda Earl Marks & Spencer will this week unveil its lowest profit for eight years, underlining the scale of the job facing chief executive Marc Bolland and his team. On Tuesday, it is tipped to report that underlying profits for the year to March fell seven per cent to £658million. The fresh evidence of M&S’s troubles comes after a buoyant week in which its latest women’s range was welcomed by fashion pundits.   rose seven per cent after the launch. The retailer has reorganised its womenswear team and drafted in Belinda Earl, formerly of Jaeger and Debenhams, who will work up to three days a week on designs alongside another former Debenhams executive, Stephanie Chen. But Earl’s plaudits from the fashion community sparked a bitter row with her former boss at Debenhams, Terry Green.   More... Many believe future of M&S chief executive Marc Bolland hangs on success of womenswear Marks & Spencer turns to Next

Investor: Paul Burrell Celebrities, bankers and football stars have been caught up in an alleged £125million tax fraud after putting their money into film investment plans  that turned sour. West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce, Princess Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell and pop singers Mike Skinner of The Streets and Damon Gough (known as Badly Drawn Boy) were all investors in the schemes. City figures, including Caspar Shand Kydd, nephew of Princess Diana’s stepfather, Peter Shand Kydd, also put in cash. Five people said to be behind the alleged frauds were last month charged  by the Crown Prosecution Service. Keith Hayley, Robert Bevan, Charles Savill, Cyril Megret and Norman Leighton will appear before Birmingham magistrates next month.   More... The bizarre world of petrol pricing Pharma giant Shire could return £2bn to investors The CPS said film tax reliefs were ‘abused and dishonestly marketed in order to cheat the public revenue. The evidence suggests the value of

The new chief executive of the  Co-operative Group has used his first speech to the mutual’s AGM to calm fears over a financial crisis at the banking business. Euan Sutherland told delegates in Manchester: ‘Traditional capitalist models are not providing the answers to people today. They are looking to us, the Co-operative Group, to provide the alternative. The group has challenges but it also has significant opportunities and potential.’ Downgrade: The Co-op's credit rating was slashed to 'junk' status by Moody's two weeks ago The Co-op Group pulled out of a proposed bid to buy 632 branches from Lloyds Banking Group in April, and two weeks ago credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded Co-op Bank’s debt to junk.   More... Co-op Bank downgrade: do savers need to worry and what does it mean for borrowers? Co-op Bank boss quits after Moody's downgrade amid fears the bank could need taxpayer support The bank needs to raise up to £1billion to meet regulators’

The capitalist economic ideal is no longer working and other options must be pursued, according to the new boss of Co-operative Group. Speaking to members at the annual meeting this weekend, Euan Sutherland said: ‘Traditional capitalist models are not providing the answer to the concerns of people today. People are looking to us to find the alternative.’ Dissatisfied: Co-op's new boss Euan Sutherland has expressed discontent with the capitalist system His comments follow the downgrading of Co-op Bank’s credit rating by Moody’s after a deal to buy more than 600 Lloyds branches collapsed. The mutual, which also runs funeral parlours and supermarkets, has reassured customers over finances.   More... Sir Stuart Rose £1.5m richer in Ocado deal with Morrisons Banks accused of sabotaging deals made by online lender Funding Circle

Defence giant BAE Systems is poised to name City veteran Sir Roger Carr as its next chairman. Carr, who is the outgoing president of employers’ group the CBI and was chairman of Cadbury during its £10billion takeover by Kraft, would replace Dick Olver, who has held the role for nine years. BAE’s board is understood to be preparing its final selection and Sir Roger has spoken with directors. Appointment:Sir Roger Carr (pictured) could become Chairman of BAE His name has been put to the Ministry of Defence, which has the power to veto an appointment through the Government’s special share in the company. BAE employs about 100,000 worldwide and is a major player in the US defence market.   More... Defence contractor BAE soldiers on to 'modest growth' as global spending cuts take a bite out of sales Osborne's Help to Buy scheme might boost the property market but it must be ditched, King warns It builds Typhoon fighter jets and nuclear submarines and provides companies

Spending at garden centres has bloomed at last after freezing weather put off green-fingered consumers during the early spring. Sales of plants, tools and accessories fell 25 per cent in the first three months compared with a year earlier. Bloomin' wonderful: The onset of the warmer weather in May sent gardeners in their droves to buy plants and tools But warmer weather in the first week of May boosted sales by 70 per cent, according to research for Barclaycard.   More... China boost helps Beckham-backed Burberry sales soar to £2bn Sir Stuart Rose £1.5m richer in Ocado deal with Morrisons Dave Chan, chief executive of Barclaycard Consumer Europe, said: ‘Garden centres were relieved to see the sun again. Latest figures show visitors have returned with the warmer weather and are making up for lost time.’

I never set out to be the biggest critic of Ocado. I am a big believer in online retailing, how its growth will improve people’s lives and also destroy many household names. By 2020, I expect that 20 per cent of retail sales will be transacted online. That is 30 per cent in non-food and 10 per cent in food. Therefore, I would really love to love Ocado, but I have never found myself able to do so, despite a few flirtatious glances. Lengthy contract: The 25-year deal may not be game-changing but it certainly is a coup for Ocado's head hencho's Tim Steiner and Sir Stuart Rose That said, I must admit to getting a shock when I began to take in the details of its long-term agreement with Morrisons. While I had attempted to include any potential tie-up with Morrisons in my valuation of Ocado, there were a number of details which took me by surprise. The main one was that I had not expected Morrisons to sign a 25-year deal. 2.5 years is a long time in online retailing.   More...

The Walt Disney Company was given a £13.6million tax break in return for choosing Britain as the location to film Maleficent, its upcoming blockbuster movie starring Angelina Jolie. The film is a live-action take on the 1959 Disney cartoon Sleeping Beauty. Filmed at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, it is due for release in July next year. Spellbound: Angelina Jolie in costume as Maleficent, the villainess in a new version of 'Sleeping Beauty' According to accounts, £87.5million was spent on the production but the costs were partly offset by £13.6million from HM Revenue and Customs. The recently-filed figures are for the UK limited company Briar Rose Productions, named after the original Grimm fairytale on which Sleeping Beauty is based. They state that Disney considers ‘the company’s key non-financial performance indicator to be whether Maleficent qualifies as a British film under Film Tax Credit legislation’.   More... Cineworld reports blockbuster revenue rise aft

Kylie Jenner SUV score : 'KUWTK' Celebrity Kylie Jenner's SUV gets the royal treatment lately, and this June 9 Mail Online shared all of the details. Jenner may only be 15-years-old, but the "Keeping Up With the Kardashian" star has got a pretty sweet ride and it seems she knows how to treat it well. It seems Kylie Jenner's SUV is a Mercedes-Benz G Class worth about $125,000. While Jenner can't drive it completely solo yet, she seems happy to keep it looking sharp. She recently shared a picture of the vehicle at the detailer noting she was “giving the G wagon a spa day!” The famous teen is likely practicing and counting down to Aug. 10 when she turns 16 and can apply for a full-fledged driver's license. Until then, Kylie needs someone 18 or older to be in the car with her. As a note of comparison, older sister Kendall Jenner was given a Range Rover worth $90,000 for her 16th birthday. There's no confirmation that the Mercedes-Benz G Class is exclu

Low-cost airline Ryanair posted a 13 per cent rise in annual profits today but warned the recession across much of Europe will dampen growth this year. The Dublin-based company, which operates on more than 1,600 routes, carried 79.3 million passengers in the year to March 31, an increase of 5 per cent on the previous year as revenues improved 13 per cent to €4.8 billion (£4.1billion). in the budget airline jumped more than 6 per cent to a record high of €6.764 (572p). Sky-high: Ryanair announced a 13 per cent increase in annual profits today which sent its share price up 5 per cent but it is embroiled in a row with its pilots of pay and working conditions. Net profits rose to €569 million (£481.4 million) and the airline is hopeful of another rise this year, albeit at a slower rate of growth as economic conditions put pressure on average fares across the industry. Ryanair expects traffic to grow by another two million passengers to 81.5 million in the current year, helped b

> 15:00 Shares in London remain in positive territory despite an earlier dip over fears the US Federal Reserve may be preparing to ease its quantitative easing programme sooner than anticipated.   More... AIM market chief Marcus Stuttard urges growing companies to issue shares GLOBAL MARKETS: Track the latest trends here Market report brought to you in association with Killik & Co. For market advice check out killik.com The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 0.10 per cent, or 15 points, to 15 399.05 an hour after trading began in the US as investors take a breather after the major indices finished higher for the fourth straight week in a row.  The FTSE 100 was 0.11 per cent higher at 6730.5, close to a previous closing high of 6732.40 seen in July 2007 and at levels not seen since October 2007 helped by Germany's leading share index, the Dax hitting, a new record high. Ishaq Siddiqi, market strategist at ETX Capital Markets said: 'The FTSE100 is nicel

Investment bank Goldman Sachs said last week that the price of gold, which has fallen by more than ten per cent in the past six months, could weaken further. The warning came days after French bank Societe Generale put out a report called The End Of The Gold Era, predicting gold would keep sliding this year and next. The gold price has since dived, posting a near 6 per cent decline in morning trading on Monday 15 April. For those who still see gold as a solid long-term investment, or its fall as a buying opportunity, a gold ETF is a very popular way to invest. Decline: Gold has dropped after a spectacular rise, but fans say it is still one for the long-term. Thousands of private investors have exposure to gold through funds such as ETFS Physical Gold. These pool investors’ money and use it to buy real bullion, which is stored in vaults. represent the underlying gold assets and their price varies continually to reflect the value of the gold less the fund’s administration costs.