EU referendum could be held October 2016, according to government source June 20, 2015 The EU referendum will be held in October 2016, according to government sources. The vote, which will ask British voters whether they wish to remain in the EU, is believed to likely take place next Autumn, following David Cameron's renegotiation talks with EU leaders. Officials in Downing Street and the Foreign Office are currently deciding [...]
Greece crisis: European Central Bank offers Greece another liquidity lifeline June 19, 2015 Stocks in Athens were up as much as two per cent this afternoon, after the European Central Bank (ECB) offered a lifeline to Greece this afternoon, increasing the amount of emergency liquidity its banks can draw on for the second time this week. Read more: Countdown to Grexit: The key dates that could save Greece before [...]
Government borrowing in May falls to an eight-year low June 19, 2015 Strong growth in income tax receipts helped whittle government borrowing down to an eight-year low last month. Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, was £10.12bn in May 2015, compared to £12.35bn from the same time year the same time a year ago. And this was below economists' forecasts of £10.8bn. This meant public [...]
London space race takes off: City firms scramble for offices as demand hits highest level since 2000 June 18, 2015 Demand for office space in the capital has boomed to levels not seen in 15 years, new figures show, as companies, spurred on by the improving economic environment and stability following the General Election, pick up their search for space. The amount of space under offer in central London leapt by 25 per cent [...]
Emergency summit called as Greek deadline looms June 18, 2015 Eurozone leaders will hold an emergency summit on Monday in a last-ditch attempt to stop Greece from defaulting on its debts. The summit was announced late last night, after finance ministers from the 19-nation currency bloc failed to make any breakthrough on a cash-for-reforms agreement at Eurogroup talks in Luxembourg. “Too little progress has been [...]
Government hires Goldman to advise on sales of bank shares June 18, 2015 Goldman Sachs will advise the government on the sale of its remaining stakes in Britain’s banks. Goldman was hired as the privatisation adviser to UK Financial Investments (UKFI), a holding company tasked with managing the taxpayer stakes in businesses across the economy, Sky News first reported last night. Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne [...]
Q&A: Why has the euro suddenly ended its expected decline? June 18, 2015 Q How far has the euro fallen? A If you were to buy a euro using dollars, you would only need about $1.14. In September last year you would have needed to pay $1.30. It marks a loss in value against the dollar of around 12 per cent. Yet for the last few months, the [...]
Greece faces a very European problem: Are woes fault of Eurozone designers as much as Greek policymakers? June 18, 2015 Greece's economy is a shadow of its former self. It once had thriving investment banks which attracted cash from all over the world and invested it predominantly in the Balkans, helping countries there to thrive after the collapse of the Soviet Union. These operations are no longer. Its economy produces 30 per cent less [...]
London and the south-east see record-breaking spike in rents June 18, 2015 Estate agents are urging housebuilders to look south, as the national average rent reaches its highest point since records began. Rents across the UK are now 4.5 per cent higher than a year ago, with London and the south-east rising faster than anywhere else, according to the latest Your Move and Reeds Rains Buy-to-Let [...]
Wind energy subsidies will end next April June 18, 2015 The government has moved forward the end date for onshore wind energy subsidies, it revealed yesterday. The Department of Energy and Climate Change will close the renewables obligation to new onshore wind generating stations from 1 April 2016. The Conservatives had pledged to stop the subsidies in their manifesto ahead of the General Election, however [...]