UK house prices were flat in October November 2, 2016 House prices were flat in October, as the housing market struggled to regain the momentum it lost following the EU referendum. According to data from Nationwide, there was no house price growth month-on-month in October. House prices increased 4.6 per cent year-on-year, down from an annual growth of 5.3 per cent in September. Read more: [...]
Rail industry promises 6,400 new passenger trains a week by 2021 to address the railway’s “capacity crunch” March 20, 2017 Britain's rail industry has announced plans to run 6,400 more passenger trains a week by 2021 as around £50bn gets plugged into the network to address a "capacity crunch". Projected timetable improvements for the next four years show 1,283 more trains a day will run from Monday to Friday nationwide, according to analysis by the Rail [...]
UK house price growth slowed again in November December 1, 2016 House prices grew by 0.1 per cent in November, with the rate of growth slowing to 4.4 per cent from 4.6 per cent in October, and analysts pointed to market uncertainty and cautious buyers and sellers having a cooling effect on the sector. The Nationwide House Prices Index showed the average price of a house [...]
Great Western electrification might miss new 2018 target and £2.8bn budget, MPs warn March 3, 2017 The Great Western electrification project might miss its revised delivery target of December 2018 and £2.8bn budget, MPs have warned. The government and Network Rail's failings on the cost estimations and planning of the project throws into doubt their ability to manage similar projects, the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) said today. The estimated cost of [...]
Trump’s travel ban appeal has failed at the first hurdle February 5, 2017 The US appeals court has rejected a request by Donald Trump to immediately reinstate his ban on people from certain countries entering the US, after filing an appeal against a ruling that put a temporary halt on the ban. The US Justice Department (DOJ) has filed a motion seeking to reverse Friday's decision by a federal judge in Seattle, [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan confirms date of April 2019 to bring in daily charge on the capital’s most polluting vehicles April 4, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed he will bring forward the introduction of an ultra-low emission zone and plans to expand it from central London to the North Circular and South Circular roads. The most polluting vehicles will have to pay a daily charge (£12.50 for cars, vans and motorbikes; £100 for buses, coaches and [...]
UK house price growth has accelerated – and it’s not all because of stamp duty changes, according to the Nationwide House Price index April 1, 2016 Would-be second home owners appear to have bolstered the UK's house price growth in March, with the annual rate accelerating to 5.7 per cent – up from 4.8 per cent the previous month. The price of a typical UK home rose by 0.8 per cent, at least in part as a result of buy-to-let investors [...]
Seven investment charts that caught our eye in June July 6, 2017 Schroders Investment Communications team highlights charts they found interesting this month. Mid-year markets Schroders' team of economists put together a handy summary of how various asset classes and markets have performed as we reach the middle of the year. Looking at broad asset classes, equities have been the best to be invested in, while commodities [...]
Big UK banks slip down in global ranking, but Metro and the challengers make ground July 3, 2017 Big UK banks are suffering compared with international rivals, according to a ranking of the world’s 1,000 largest lenders out today. HSBC remains Britain’s biggest bank in the global ranking, coming in ninth for the second year in a row. However, the lender – which topped the 2008 ranking – suffered its worst result in [...]
Sears shares rocket 29 per cent as boss outlines plans for a “strategic transformation” February 10, 2017 Shares in US department store Sears rocketed as markets opened today, after plans to reduce debts sent investors on a shopping spree. The retail giant said its new strategy could remove $1.5bn from its debt and pensions obligations, which have weighed on the company’s stock market performance. “We are initiating a fundamental restructuring of our [...]