homebuilder is called persimmon. number one. the pretax profit for the first half up by 57%.mpletions in the first half. every up by 33%. it is operating -- its operating margin rising to 17 point 7%. /a 22% ahead of last year as well. let's cut to the chase. company,k to of the persimmon's ceo. this is a bloomberg first interview. good morning, sir. thank you so much for joining us. the metrics are all good. karen forward sales by 22%, what is this slowdown in the housing market we are reading about? >> we seeing good levels of demand, plenty of visitors to our sites and we are busy trying to build houses to meet that demand. >> can you elaborate on what i , the survey evidence which seems to show predominantly in london but nationally as well that the housing market is coming off at a boil. what is your take? slowdowning is slight through the summer but that is a usual seasonal situation. we are more than comfortable with that. the volumes we're seeing through our business are increased over the previous year. we are pleased with the way we're going. up by about 6% year on

since july, persimmons says that they are seeing good numbers since july. they underlie the pretax profit. they say they are making a move with demand in the market for the u.k. housing. on the downside, you will explore this. 10% jump in underlying profit and they continue with the plan. company ism smelter all about the bhp. they are off by 3%. >> thank you. these are the top headlines today. the german chancellor could visit the ukraine for talks with the government. declined toor update after the report that the visits would happen this weekend. she ruled out more combat troops to offset the russians. barack obama says that the u.s. will continue limited airstrikes in iraq. kurdish forces are battling militants for control of a key dam and the u.s. is working to pull together an international coalition to support humanitarian relief in iraq. close to a deal to pay $300 billion to resolve claims by the new york banking regulator that they did have suspicious transactions and promised to flag them. the settlement could calm as soon as this week. let's sta

delivering a 57% jump in underlying profits, persimmon is up 0.6%.y were, quote, taking advantage of the current market opportunities and it is confident about maintaining that momentum. >>> what about the other side of the world? chinese home prices fell in a record 64 cities in july, including beijing, where price he eased by 1 is% on a monthly basis. this as the government tries to calm the housing market while maintaining robust growth. eunice has been taking a look at the situation for home buyers in beijing. >> reporter: jong lu is the proud owner of a 450 square foot apartment in beijing. the 28-year-old webb editor invested her entire life savings and took advantage of easier mortgages in china to buy her new $250,000 home. it's very easy to get a mortgage. any bank will give one to you, she says. without one, i wouldn't even think about buying. jong is one of the first-time buyers authorities here hope will help prop up china's flagging property market. in beijing and other cities across china, the housing market is starting to weaken. many