Thursday evening business bulletin

Jun 12 2008 By Andrew Mernin

The London market made solid gains today as investors took advantage of recent hefty falls in the embattled banking and housebuilding sectors.

High street banks took the top three risers positions in the FTSE 100 Index, while four housebuilders topped the second tier’s best performers. They have all been hammered in recent days amid worries over future trading.

With mining stocks buoyed by a broker upgrade, the Footsie climbed 56.4 points to 5779.7 by lunchtime.

But the upbeat session masked falls for retailers after updates from high street giants Home Retail Group and Carphone Warehouse failed to soothe nerves in the sector.

On the banking front, Britain’s largest mortgage lender Halifax Bank of Scotland initially saw its shares move another step away from the company’s 275p discounted offer price. HBOS stock was later nearly 5% higher, or 17p at 275p.

One in four Britons worry that their finances are out of control, a survey showed today.

Around 27% of people said they sometimes or always felt they were not in control of their money, with 8% admitting they regularly spent more than they earned, according to financial services group GE Money.

But 37% of people said their spending habits had changed during the past six to 12 months, with the majority of people saying they were trying to spend less.

Despite this 40% of those questioned admitted they still did not have any money left at the end of each month.

One in three people said they did not have any debt, while 44% claimed to save up to £500 each month.

But more than half of those questioned admitted they could be doing more to manage their finances better.

A GE Money spokesman said: "As we approach summer we are urging people to take an active interest in sorting out their finances."

More than half of people moving home plan to carry out the process themselves in a bid to cut costs, research showed today.

Around 52% of people said they would not be using removal men to try to save money, while 10% will even try to sell their home themselves to avoid paying estate agents’ fees, according to Lloyds TSB.

But despite trying to cut costs, 85% of those questioned admitted they were unable to stick to their budget, while 29% did not bother to set one.

The average homeowner spends £7,434 on the total cost of moving, including estate agents’ and solicitors’ fees and removal costs, with one in five spending more than £15,000.

Six out of 10 people said they had gone without holidays in the run up to buying a new home to help them meet moving costs, while 56% cut down on meals out and 48% bought less clothes.

Alison Burns, mortgage sales director at Lloyds TSB, said: ``In the current economic environment it’s not surprising that consumers are taking a more cost-conscious approach to moving home."

The pound at 4:30pm was US$1.9461 compared to US$1.9636 at the previous close while the euro at 4:30pm was £0.7923 compared to £0.7922 at the previous close.