Defined benefit pension scheme deficits break £300bn mark, as uncertainty surrounding a potential Brexit grows June 1, 2016 The level of funding across defined benefit (DB) schemes has worsened over the last year, figures out today show. According to the analysis by JLT Employee Benefits, the total deficit across all private sector DB schemes has increased to £310bn at end of last month, up from £255bn the same time the year before. "Pension [...]
Trump won the nomination battle – but Ted Cruz’s remarkable speech kicked off the war for the soul of conservatism July 21, 2016 "Vote your conscience”, senator Ted Cruz asked of the crowd at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday night. That’s when the boos started rolling in. “Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution,” the former candidate for the [...]
Betting on inflation: What we learned from our wager on the character of the UK recovery October 13, 2015 In March 2013, we made a bet via Twitter on what would happen to UK inflation as the economy started to recover. Andrew bet that, within 18 months of one-year GDP growth exceeding 2 per cent, inflation would reach 5 per cent or more. He thought that that would happen because economic recovery would [...]
UK steel: Tata Steel sells European business to Greybull Capital June 1, 2016 Tata Steel has sold part of its European steel business to Greybull Capital, a private equity company. Greybull, which specialises in taking on struggling companies, has become the owner of Tata Steel's long products business, including the plants in Scunthorpe and mills on Teesside. Bimlendra Jha, executive chairman of the Long Products Europe business and [...]
London house prices: Build-to-Rent could transform lives in the capital – it must be free from unhelpful requirements October 1, 2015 The UK does not have enough homes – especially in the capital. This is a concern persistently raised by our members and felt the country over. Indeed, there is a real fear that our thriving cities – and London is the key example – will start to suffer as access to housing, or lack of [...]
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley steps in for eleventh hour BHS chats June 12, 2016 Sports Direct's Mike Ashley is trying to reopen talks to save BHS from liquidation. A source told City A.M. that Ashley had written to the administrators in a bid to reopen a dialogue in a move that could save a number of stores along with the BHS name. City A.M. also understands that the administrators will be [...]
UK house prices: Stamp duty – unless we’re still at war with France, it should go March 14, 2016 Stamp duty was originally introduced as a temporary tax in 1694 by a weird coalition of Dutch and British Monarchs, to maintain the war against their French foes. The duty then lay in the background until 1997, when Gordon Brown‘s first act as chancellor was to resurrect it. Brown’s master plan was to impose a [...]
London house prices might be mind-boggling for renters and young buyers, but it’s forcing creative solutions to the problem like never before October 15, 2015 This month, Daniel Radcliffe reportedly put his New York apartment up for rent at an eye-watering price of $19,000 (£12,500) per month. But now you can live the real “Harry Potter” lifestyle for a snip of the cost after an eager London renter in search of a new home tweeted a ‘room’ that was available to rent [...]
Prime Minister David Cameron makes first visit to Port Talbot after sale announcement in March April 26, 2016 David Cameron met with Tata Steel management and unions at the Port Talbot steelworks today during his first visit since the sale plans were announced in March. Tata Steel's sale of its loss-making UK businesses has put tens of thousands of jobs in steel manufacturing and the wider supply chain at risk. Read more: UK steel is globally [...]
Britain hasn’t lost Arm: Its acquisition is the start of a new Great British tech story July 19, 2016 A week ago, many were wondering whether the UK’s tech sector would become less relevant in a post-Brexit world. The news of Arm’s acquisition by SoftBank for £24bn means many things for UK tech – but irrelevance is not one of them. This acquisition is positive and timely news. Following the referendum, it’s an immediate vote [...]