Letters to the Editor – 13/03 – Made in Britain, Co-op damage, Best of Twitter March 12, 2014 Made in Britain [Re: British manufacturing’s long decline could be about to end, yesterday] I run a mid-sized contract manufacturing business, and I am busy this weekend transferring production back from China for a good customer. It’s not primarily because of cost or logistics – the product is mostly sold in the US. Manufacturing jobs [...]
London’s house prices soar 12pc February 18, 2014 HOUSE prices in the capital have pulled further away from those in the rest of the country, official figures showed yesterday. London’s prices jumped by 12.3 per cent in the 12 months to December, more than double the 5.5 per cent rise in the UK as a whole, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The increase [...]
Bank goes on hire spree December 10, 2013 TESCO Bank yesterday revealed it is hiring 300 staff in preparation for the launch of its current account next year. The retailer hopes to take on the bigger lenders with its nationwide brand, large branch network and convenience. However, it has yet to detail how the accounts will work as well as their pricing. The [...]
Brand Index: New banks on the block will find it tough to win custom February 18, 2014 NOT LONG ago, the British retail banking sector was dominated by just a few big brands. That is undeniably starting to change, and yet our research shows that people may say they have a fairly low opinion of the traditional players, but there is also a strong preference for the devil they know. According to [...]
Fastest rise in UK house prices since July 2010 November 29, 2013 (Nationwide) The Nationwide UK house price index rose by 0.6 per cent in November, taking the annual rate of increase to 6.5 per cent – the biggest seen since July 2010. October's month-on-month increase was 1.0 per cent, whilst year-on-year the index rose 5.8 per cent. November's figures follow the news yesterday that the Bank [...]
British mutuals seize customers from big banks February 26, 2014 THREE major building societies yesterday reported big increases in profits for 2013 as the sector seized customers from the big banks. The Yorkshire Building Society saw pre-tax profits jump to £199.3m, up 26 per cent on the year. It is the second largest mutual behind Nationwide, and its gross lending volumes increased 48 per cent on [...]
Booming housing market could see Help to Buy scaled back February 18, 2014 UK house prices continued their forward march at the end of 2013, with the capital pulling even further ahead from the pack and the average house price hitting £250,000. Figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown London house prices rose 0.9 per cent in December, putting them more than a fifth higher than [...]
What you need to know before the open February 28, 2014 European bourses are set to open slightly higher this morning, after Fed chair Janet Yellen yesterday acknowledged the possibility that recent severe weather in the US could have impacted economic data. She also confirmed the Fed remains on track with its tapering programme. US markets finished on a record high yesterday, with the S&P 500 [...]
Here’s what 3 banks are saying about Tesco’s latest turnaround plan February 26, 2014 Tesco’s shares are down more than four per cent, after the supermarket chain scrapped its profit margin target and laid out plans to invest in lowering its prices, prompting analysts cuts their ratings and price targets. Deutsche Bank cut its earning before interest and tax (EBIT) forecast of a £50m decline in the year to [...]
Here’s what the Bank of England has to say on Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ripple March 12, 2014 In a new primer on the nature of money, the UK’s central bank has waded into the world of sterling-alternatives. Seeing “a wave of innovation” in the recent past, the Bank says in “Money in the modern economy” that alternative currencies are not widely accepted as a medium of exchange. Or at least, not as [...]