Ferrari sales cause HR Owen profits jump August 22, 2011 Luxury car seller HR Owen has said its pre-tax profits doubled to £1.7m in the first half of the year as buyers flocked to its new high-end cars. The Ferrari and Bentley seller said its revenues rose almost 18 per cent compared with the first half of 2010 to £93.1m as its customers appeared undented [...]
LIBERTARIAN LEAFLETERS HIT OUT AT ANTI-CAPITALIST PROTESTS October 17, 2011 SNEAKING among the protesters outside St. Paul’s Cathedral over the weekend was a pack of intrepid pro-capitalist activists. Their purpose? To reform and educate the anti-corporate revolutionaries on the beauty of an unimpeded free market. “We distributed more than 100 leaflets to protesters,” ringleader Simon Gibbs told The Capitalist. “One third of protesters, mostly young [...]
LIBERTARIAN LEAFLETERS HIT OUT AT ANTI-CAPITALIST PROTESTS October 17, 2011 SNEAKING among the protesters outside St. Paul’s Cathedral over the weekend was a pack of intrepid pro-capitalist activists. Their purpose? To reform and educate the anti-corporate revolutionaries on the beauty of an unimpeded free market. “We distributed more than 100 leaflets to protesters,” ringleader Simon Gibbs told The Capitalist. “One third of protesters, mostly young [...]
US businesses boost spending September 28, 2011 US businesses shrugged off an uncertain economic environment and stepped up orders for capital goods in August, a sign the economy was not falling back into recession. The Commerce Department has said non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, increased 1.1 per cent after falling 0.2 per cent in [...]
Mortgage approvals from UK high street banks remain low March 23, 2011 MORTGAGE approvals for house purchases remained near their lowest level for two years, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) reported yesterday. The 29,923 mortgage approvals in February were just a slight upgrade from the 29,159 in January and the 23 month low of 29,029 in December. Mortgage approvals were down about 11 per cent on the [...]
PROPERTY NEWS July 28, 2011 FAIRY TALE CASTLE FOR SALE Castello di Scerpena, a five-bedroom mediaeval castle in Tuscany, is now on the market for €16.5m. There are two villas, a guardian cottage, a deer park and 190 hectares of land with 7,000 olive trees attached to the property’s sale. Contact Savills International on 0207 016 3754 or go to [...]
Our economy and housing supply are being held back by planning: Liberalise now November 22, 2011 THE roots of our urban and housing crises began in the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act. This created the current planning framework where all major private property changes are subject to state veto. All land released for housing has to be approved by councils. Councils tell developers what they should build and where it [...]
Our economy and housing supply are being held back by planning: Liberalise now November 22, 2011 THE roots of our urban and housing crises began in the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act. This created the current planning framework where all major private property changes are subject to state veto. All land released for housing has to be approved by councils. Councils tell developers what they should build and where it [...]
House price slump is already upon us August 30, 2011 HOUSE prices remain overvalued in Britain, locking out many aspiring buyers. Of that there is no doubt. But it is also the case that average prices have fallen far more than is usually understood; the single biggest reason why so many younger people cannot enter the market is because they have to put down much [...]
HOUSING SUPPORT March 23, 2011 CHANGES TO STAMP DUTY LAND TAX ON BULK PURCHASES If the buyer chooses then the rate of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on properties can be determined by the mean value of the homes bought, rather than the aggregate value that is currently the case. This will be subject to a minimum rate of one [...]