Piercing the bitcoin veil: Businesses should beware the risks of trading with a sanctioned entity February 3, 2016 In January the EU and the US lifted economic and financial sanctions against Iran in a ground-breaking deal that unfroze billions of pounds of assets and opened up new markets for the first time since 2010. Despite the fanfare surrounding the deal, in the small print a warning remains: some EU and US financial sanctions [...]
General Election 2015: David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg on how they’re going to solve the housing crisis (and which is their favourite room) April 23, 2015 House prices are too high and there aren't enough homes on the market, a new – not altogether surprising – study has suggested. But with an election just days away, property search giant Rightmove, which conducted the research, decided to take it to the leaders of each party to see what they're going to do [...]
London house prices: Your home is paying off your annual commute in around a fortnight if you live in Surbiton, Tandridge, Harpenden, Henley and Epsom January 13, 2016 Have you found yourself grumbling about the ever-increasing cost of commuting, even when your train is delayed/cancelled/diverted for no apparent reason? If you're a property owner, it's time to turn that frown upside down. New research suggests that if you travel into London from the commuter belt, your home is actually paying off the cost of your annual [...]
Let the good times roll: EY Item Club forecasts strong growth for UK financial services February 15, 2016 The financial services industry can expect decent growth over the next few years, a group of forecasters have said today. Mortgage lending, business borrowing and consumer credit are all set to grow at healthy rates over the coming years, as the UK economy shrugs off recent severe stock market declines. However, the EY Item Club said [...]
UK house prices: Rightmove share price jumps as it absorbs business from rivals July 29, 2015 It seems the launch of an estate agent-run portal which forces agents to choose between Rightmove and Zoopla has done no harm to the former, after it reported a 16 per cent rise in revenues during the first half of the year. The figures The housing boom continues to benefit Rightmove: revenues rose to £93.1m in [...]
UK house price growth slows to lowest rate in over a year June 3, 2015 UK house price growth slowed in May, with the annual growth rate slowing to an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in May – down from 5.2 per cent in April and the lowest rate since August 2013. The figures The average cost of a house in the UK now stands at £195,166 – the [...]
NatWest says government’s new Help to Buy ISAs will help young customers November 27, 2015 NatWest has revealed that it will be one of the country’s first lenders to participate in the government’s new Help to Buy: ISA scheme. Starting next week, NatWest will offer customers accounts on the scheme, which will see the government topping up individuals’ savings when they purchase their first home. For every £200 an individual [...]
Chinese shares rise two per cent after day of volatile trading – but end the week 10 per cent down January 8, 2016 Chinese shares closed mixed today, ending a week of volatile trading, following mounting fears over the pace of the country's economic slowdown. After a day of wild swings, China's Shanghai composite index closed up 1.97 per cent at 3,186.41 points. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen composite index ended the day 1.05 per cent higher at 1,978.721 points. The CSI 300 index, tracking [...]
Save money on international transfers February 25, 2016 Stock markets have provided an interesting if not slightly stormy narrative to the beginning of 2016, and many City commentators are forecasting more of the volatility that was so prevalent during last year. If this proves to be the case currency markets are likely to be a bit choppy too. Sterling weakness Just like stock [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Labour candidate Sadiq Khan attacks Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith over housing policy January 28, 2016 Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan was on the offensive tonight at the first official hustings event in the race for City Hall, as he attacked Conservative rival Zac Goldmsith over housing policy. Khan and Goldsmith participated in a public debate organised by the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) at the London School of Economics. The debate also [...]