UK house prices in graphs: London sees 50pc rise in the number of high-end properties on sale July 15, 2014 The number of homes entering the market at above £500,000 rose by almost 30 per cent in the UK and 50 per cent in London in the last 12 months. According to research by Experian, houses between £250,000 and £500,000 rose by 16 per cent over the last year, putting volumes for both at their highest [...]
Nato can save us from Putin – but only if Europe gets serious about its military August 31, 2014 For my sins, early in my Washington career I was sent to literally scores of high-level North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) meetings, frustratingly all on the same beside-the-point topic. Stripped of its finery, basically every conclave revolved around finding another mission for the most successful politico-military alliance in the history of the world, now that [...]
Where to drink in the City: The changing face of Square Mile nightlife September 17, 2014 The City of London: engine-room for the country’s economy, working place of some of the most powerful decision-makers in the Western world. But the Square Mile is strangely anachronistic in terms of its watering holes. If you fancy a drink after work, the choice has tended to be between good old spit and sawdust boozers [...]
After the Scottish referendum results it’s what happens next which could buffet David Cameron September 19, 2014 In the end it came down to heart, not head. Scotland voted against independence in the way a tired child, having shouted and resisted in its parents' arms, eventually curls in for a cuddle after the storm passes. The union, like a great umbilical cord running the backbone of the United Kingdom, may bend and [...]
Bitcoin crashes to below $500 August 18, 2014 Bitcoin has crashed to below $500 for the first time since May, dipping as low as $309 on BTC-e, the world’s third-largest Bitcoin exchange. The “flash crash” put an end to a relatively stable period for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has been the subject of big sell-offs since last week. Cryptocurrency site CoinDesk reckons it has shed [...]
The City of London has its own caliphate – and they have away days in Hampshire September 18, 2014 Given what we've learned about caliphates over recent months – largely from the rise of the brutal Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East – the City of London, with its decidedly Western attitudes to money-making, is not where you’d expect to find one. But it turns out the Square Mile is home to [...]
Business anger at plans to hike congestion levy January 6, 2014 LONDON’S congestion charge could rise from £10 a day to £11.50, under plans revealed yesterday by Transport for London that were criticised by hauliers and some business groups. The levy on motorists in central London has already doubled from £5 a day when it was launched in 2003, though TfL said the charges have been [...]
Spurs won’t be left red-faced by Liverpool this time August 28, 2014 BEN CLEMINSON PREVIEWS TOTTENHAM V LIVERPOOL AND EVERTON V CHELSEA “WE’VE sold Elvis but bought the Beatles,” was how former Tottenham striker Garth Crooks memorably described last summer’s transfer dealings at White Hart Lane. In the end it was less Fab Four and more a case of Faith No More, after a campaign that failed [...]
Almacantar wins consent to demolish Marble Arch Tower June 4, 2014 ALMACANTAR won planning consent on Tuesday night to demolish the 1960s Marble Arch tower in the West End and replace it with two new buildings designed by Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Vinoly. The taller 17-storey tower will have 53 luxury flats, shops and a revamped Odeon cinema on the ground floor. The second seven storey [...]
Dagger in the Kremlin’s heart: Europe’s sanctions have revived a comatose West July 30, 2014 “We live between the act of awakening and the act of surrender.” John O’Donohue, Irish poet MY GOD, they’ve finally done something. In the end, it wasn’t the horrific shooting down of MH17 – highly likely by Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine – that goaded a seemingly inert Europe into decisive action. Even after this [...]