Last Week in the City: England has an 8.5% chance of winning the World Cup May 18, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (14 to 18 May 2018). UBS has used its City analysts’ predictive firepower to try and work out the winner of the upcoming World Cup in Russia – and England came surprisingly high in its league [...]
London’s lack of rental supply is pushing rents up by five per cent annually May 14, 2018 London’s property prices are dropping, but a lack of housing is pushing rents up five per cent a year, according to a study from property group Haart. According to the study, the average property price in London fell by 3.7 per cent in April, down 3.4 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, rental stock is down 40 [...]
How much is property in Mayfair? May 11, 2018 Last month, Mayfair knocked Knightsbridge off the top spot as the most expensive place to buy in London for the first time in 10 years. Local agent Wetherells, which commissioned the report from Dataloft, puts this dethroning down to a lack of new homes being built in Knightsbridge, whereas that certainly isn’t the case in [...]
Pound falls as BoE hold interest rates again – but experts argue a rise is still on the horizon May 10, 2018 The pound has fallen on the news that the Bank of England has chosen not to raise interest rates, falling 0.2 per cent against the dollar to $1.35. The decision came after a slew of weak economic data put governor Mark Carney’s plans to raise rates above historic 0.5 per cent levels on hold. Just [...]
All eyes on Bank of England governor Mark Carney as rates decision due tomorrow May 9, 2018 The chances of the Bank of England (BoE) not raising interest rates in May seemed inconceivable just a few months ago. Back in February, BoE deputy governor Ben Broadbent said that it would not be a “great shock” to the economy if the Bank raised interest rates twice this year. Now, it will be a [...]
Pearson (PSON) share price rises as it posts a “good start” to the year May 4, 2018 London-listed publisher Pearson posted a one per cent rise in first-quarter revenues today, in a “good start” to 2018. Total underlying revenues rose one per cent, as sales in North America rose three per cent and turnover in core markets, which include the UK, Australia and Italy, grew six per cent, offsetting a 12 per [...]
How Gin took over the world: It’s selling in record numbers with little sign of slowing down, but could the bubble be about to burst May 3, 2018 From Dalston dives to The Rivoli at the Ritz, people are drinking juniper-flavoured ethanol in record numbers. Last year more than 50m bottles of gin were sold in the UK for the first time, with £1.2bn in sales, up from £600m in 2011. That’s more than a billion gin and tonics. And while the best-selling [...]
Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe apologises for singing “we’re in the money” as concerns grow over Asda merger April 30, 2018 Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe was left embarrassed this evening as he was caught on camera singing “We’re in the Money”, on the day the supermarket announced details of a merger with Walmart-owned Asda. Coupe’s little ditty came as unions and MPs raised concerns that the deal could result in job losses and a squeeze on [...]
Persimmon in close shave as almost half of shareholders refuse to permit pay report which awarded boss £110m April 25, 2018 Homebuilding giant Persimmon just about managed to keep its house in order today, narrowly avoiding a full-blown shareholder revolt at its AGM. The housebuilder had been in hot water over a long-term incentive plan (LTIP), approved by shareholders in 2012, which awarded its boss Jeff Fairburn a massive £110m bonus. Although Fairburn has agreed to [...]
UK housebuilder Persimmon posts £2.76bn revenue in first quarter April 25, 2018 Forward sales revenue for Persimmon was up 8 per cent in the first quarter of this year to £2.76bn, the UK housebuilder announced today ahead of its annual general meeting tonight. The company also revealed that it had sold 9,048 new homes this year, up from 8,928 over the same period last year. Average selling [...]