London IPOs: Second time round it’s a buyer’s market – Bottom Line August 31, 2014 And so it begins. The window for new listings on the London stock market unofficially opens again today after the summer lull and bankers will hope to rekindle the spirit that gripped the City earlier this year. But omens are not so good this time round. Things were different back then. Pent up demand from [...]
Soaring number of low deposit mortgage deals February 24, 2014 NEW FIGURES released this morning suggest that the number of products for the highest loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages has tripled since the surprise launch of the second phase of Help to Buy in October. The number of products available for buyers with only a five per cent deposit has soared from 43 to 132 in less [...]
From Quindell and Gotham City to Uber and the LDTA – five of the biggest business battles to watch out for in 2015 December 22, 2014 Rival camps have banded together, the lines are drawn, battle armour is on and adrenaline is running high. All that's left for spectators to do is grab some popcorn and watch from the ringside. From rival estate agents, to a business targeted by a Batman styled US fund and an influx of tiny new banks [...]
Carney could scrap Help to Buy next year January 8, 2014 GEORGE Osborne’s flagship Help to Buy mortgage scheme could be shot down by Mark Carney in the coming 18 months, top bank analysts said yesterday, as the booming housing market gathers pace. The chancellor wants the scheme, which supports house buyers with small deposits, to last for three years. But if the housing market overheats [...]
Carney backs big bonuses for top successful bankers February 17, 2014 SENIOR bankers should get big bonuses as long as the money is spread out over several years and can be clawed back if they make mistakes, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said yesterday. His argument runs counter to much of the criticism of high pay for bankers, as he favours the payouts when they [...]
London Report: Building boost helps FTSE snap its losing streak March 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index snapped its longest losing streak in two and a half years yesterday as the building sector surged on a government plan to pump more cash into a scheme to boost construction. Persimmon was among top FTSE gainers, rising 3.7 per cent after chancellor George Osborne said on Sunday he would extend [...]
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 [...]
The war on drugs began 100 years ago today: Let’s hope it doesn’t last another century December 16, 2014 One hundred years ago today, President Woodrow Wilson approved the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act, the US’s first national legislation designed to control the manufacture, import and supply of opium and cocaine. Francis Burton Harrison, a Democrat representative, did little more than give his name to the law. The heavy lifting was done by Dr Hamilton [...]
Mortgage approvals skyrocket to 76-month high February 25, 2014 Mortgage approvals have skyrocketed by 57 per cent year-on-year to a 76-month high in January, according to the British Bankers Association (BBA). Approvals for house purchases leapt to 49,972 in January from 47,086 in December. The numbers follow a stream of data showing a sustained burst of activity in the UK housing market. In 2013, [...]
Chelsea V Swansea spread betting September 11, 2014 IT’S NO surprise to see title favourites Chelsea sitting atop the Premier League, but a few eyebrows would have been raised if you’d suggested that last year’s 12th, Swansea, would be fighting for top-spot, having also claimed three wins from three. The two sides face off at Stamford Bridge tomorrow and you might be surprised [...]