Black Friday 2015 UK: Last year’s chaos at Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Currys and Argos has put bargain hunters off October 27, 2015 Is last year’s mayhem putting a dampener on Black Friday this year? New figures would suggest yes. Black Friday sales drew shoppers in their millions last year as the American shopping extravaganza came to the UK. But the unprecedented throngs left many with a bad taste in their mouth – and this could be a [...]
Northern Powerhouse child development gap: Educational impact of North/South divide visible from age of five October 27, 2015 Children as young as five are suffering from the impact of the north-south divide on their development and education, a think tank has warned. Less than half of children born into the poorest families in the north of England reach a "good standard" of development by school age – but they are behind even their [...]
Pound falls as UK GDP growth slows to 0.5 per cent in the third quarter, held down by construction October 27, 2015 Sterling dipped 0.05 per cent to €1.3875 this morning, after official figures showed the UK's economic growth slowed in the third quarter of this year, held back by falls in manufacturing and construction output. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy grew 0.5 per cent between July and September, missing economists' expectations for 0.6 per cent growth, and down from 0.7 [...]
Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Wandsworth and Camden most prosperous parts of UK – but Outer Hebrides is the happiest October 27, 2015 Londoners may have to put up with crowded commutes, overpriced properties and a complete misunderstanding of the phrase "work-life balance" but naysayers be warned: the capital's residents have just been named the most prosperous in the UK. Topping the list of 170 places in the UK are Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea followed by Westminster, [...]
Older homeowners tapping into their properties for cash hits 11-year high October 27, 2015 Equity release lending recorded its biggest jump in the third quarter in 11 years as more homeowners tapped into the value of their property to boost their finances. Equity release schemes are targeted at older homeowners, allowing them to take cash from the equity built up in their property without the need to sell up. [...]
New flexible ISA rules will encourage savers – Yorkshire Building Society October 27, 2015 Almost one in five (19 per cent) people without an ISA intend to open one when the new ISA freedom rules come into effect, a Yorkshire Building Society survey has found. The new rules, which were announced in the March 2015 Budget and come into effect on 6 April 2016, will allow people to withdraw and [...]
UK house prices: This chart shows the hourly rate at which property values are rising October 26, 2015 Everyone knows house prices have been rocketing in London in recent years – and they were up by nearly 10 per cent this month compared to October 2014. Now research from NLP Insights reveals that homes in the capital have been increasing in value by a whopping £3.48 per hour in the last year. This [...]
International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol warns over under-investment in the oil industry October 26, 2015 The executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol has warned that a drop in investment across the oil industry could cause prices to tighten from mid-2016. Speaking at the Singapore International Energy Week, he said oil investment was likely to fall again in 2016, after sliding by more than a fifth this year. "If it comes [...]
London house prices: Dreaming of a pad on the river Thames? Here’s how much it will cost you October 26, 2015 A room with a view always comes at a price. But that premium can be as high as 70 per cent when buying a property in London with a view of the river Thames, according to research from Cluttons. The estate agency said homes for sale on the river or with views of the Thames can [...]
BP, Shell and BG Group earnings: Investec says oil companies’ profits set to halve amid rout October 26, 2015 Could oil majors' profits halve when they update the market on their third-quarter trading this week? Broker Investec has said it expects low oil prices to push the sector's earnings down 29 per cent quarter-on-quarter, and 57 per cent annually. Amid the gloom, traders will be looking for evidence oil companies' upstream operations – which relate to the extraction and [...]