The regulator’s intervention on car finance hides an underlying reality October 28, 2019 The UK’s car finance boom has been a cause for concern for some time now, and the regulator is finally cracking down on questionable practices. One common complaint of this sector has been the practice whereby a car dealer or broker will make commission on the interest rate of the loan. By setting a higher [...]
Dyson pulls plug on electric car project October 10, 2019 Sir James Dyson has abandoned his £1bn electric vehicle project after deciding the scheme is not commercially viable. Patents for the electric car, which the company hoped would compete with the likes of Tesla, were unveiled earlier this year. Read more: First details of Dyson electric car released At the time Dyson said the car would [...]
Three lessons law firms can learn from rivals’ collapses amid coronavirus April 30, 2020 Law firm collapses are a lot like bank runs. Confidence in the institution crumbles, causing partners to rush for the exits – taking their capital and clients with them. Partner departures reduce the firm’s revenue, profit and capital, leading to further partner exits in a destructive feedback loop. Once firms enter this death spiral it [...]
Summer house deals dip amid Brexit uncertainty August 21, 2019 Britain’s property market suffered a sharp fall in the number of transactions made between June and July, as the traditional summer slowdown and growing uncertainty over Brexit dented activity. Figures released by HMRC this morning show a marked reduction in the number of property transactions over the summer months, with a drop of 8.5 per [...]
Mortgage approvals jump to five-month high as subdued market picks up | City A.M. July 30, 2018 Mortgage approvals hit a five-month high in June as Britain’s housing market shows signs of recovery from a slowdown earlier this year. British lenders approved 65,619 mortgages in June, rising 1.5 per cent from 64,684 in May and reaching the highest level since January, according to data from the Bank of England (BoE). Meanwhile, the [...]
Short sellers take a bite out of Beyond Meat as shares slump October 24, 2019 Short sellers have sunk their teeth into Beyond Meat as shares in the plant-based meat substitute company come off the gas following its hugely successful US listing earlier this year. Shares in Beyond Meat had surged past $200 in July, having debuted at $25 in May, but have gone steadily downhill since then. Now short [...]
House prices drastically outpacing wage growth in UK cities as Oxford named least affordable place to live February 2, 2019 House prices in UK cities are outpacing wage growth by 11 per cent, meaning home affordability is at its lowest level since 2007, according to new data from Lloyds Bank. The report reveals that the average price of a house in a city in Britain has risen from £180,548 in 2013 to its highest ever level of £248,233 [...]
Hammond has taken the first tentative steps towards fixing the housing crisis October 31, 2018 How do you solve the housing crisis in a single Budget? You can’t, of course – not with Brexit looming and a Prime Minister demanding that you both signal the end of austerity and reduce the UK’s national debt at the same time. But housing policy is the one single issue that personally and radically [...]
Ed Warner: Does it really matter if Chelsea buyers are true Blues fans? March 24, 2022 Who are the wannabe owners of Chelsea trying to impress when they flaunt their fandom? Investment bank the Raine Group is only likely to give a jot when someone first stood in the Shed, or how long they’ve sat in the same seat in the Matthew Harding Stand, if this matters to HM Treasury. If [...]
Ted Baker needs a dose of urgent first aid December 13, 2019 Oh, the irony. David Bernstein was in Switzerland in his capacity as chairman of the British Red Cross when he took a phone call ousting him as chairman of Ted Baker on Monday evening. Forget the Red Cross: it’s the fashion retailer which requires emergency aid. In the nine months since founder Ray Kelvin quit [...]