11 things we learned from Sajid Javid’s speech on the housing white paper February 7, 2017 Communities secretary Sajid Javid stood in the House of Commons today to unveil the government's long-awaited housing white paper, so what did we learn about the government's plans to fix the housing crisis? Well, not much. The speech was pretty vague. Javid said the government would be speeding up construction, encouraging institutional investment in the rental sector and [...]
Government has the skeleton of a plan to fix UK housing: Now it needs the drive to actually do it February 7, 2017 The government’s Housing White Paper, released yesterday, was an attempt to get England to the 250,000 new homes a year required to reach housing need. It went in many good directions and created a skeleton of a system that could meet need – but in places it did not go far enough, and perhaps pulled [...]
A spirits union is calling for Nissan-style guarantees for the Scottish whisky industry during Brexit negotiations February 24, 2017 Workers in the £5bn Scottish whisky industry should be given Nissan-style protections in Brexit negotiations, union works have said. GMB, the union for whisky and spirits workers, has written to Scottish Secretary David Mundell to call for measures to safeguard an estimated 160,000 jobs related to the industry. More than 40,000 UK jobs are directly supported by [...]
Labour has invited industry groups for an emergency summit on business rates tomorrow February 26, 2017 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has convened an emergency roundtable on business rates tomorrow in a bid to increase the pressure on the government to implement reforms. McDonnell will lead the summit alongside newly appointed shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, meeting with groups including the Institute of Directors, Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chamber of Commerce [...]
Is it worth investing in European stock markets? June 9, 2017 Eurozone equities have made strong gains in 2017. The eurozone stock market, as measured by the MSCI EMU index, has returned 11.9% in the year to 31 May. Reduced political risk A large part of the reason for Europe’s recent gains is that investors are less worried about political risk. At the start of the [...]
Budget 2017: Here’s how the Budget will affect landlords and the buy-to-let sector March 8, 2017 With the housing crisis in full throes, the last few years have been difficult ones to be a landlord – indeed, many have felt punished by measures such as an end to mortgage tax relief and higher stamp duty on buy-to-let homes. The good news for landlords was that today's Budget didn't include any further [...]
Budget 2017: New £300m fund for business rates relief March 8, 2017 The government has promised to help cushion the blow of business rates with a £300m relief fund for local authorities. Chancellor Philip Hammond has also committed to "smoother and more frequent" business rates revaluations. In addition, small pubs will be getting a £1,000 business rate discount this year – a tax cut that will help 90 per [...]
Improved fiscal outlook for the chancellor as he prepares the Spring Budget February 20, 2017 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is expected to provide some “fiscal cheer” for the chancellor, with a forecast showing greater growth for the economy and lower borrowing costs. According to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, forecasted GDP figures for 2017 are expected to be revised upwards, from 1.4 per cent to 1.6 or 1.7 [...]
Automation and AI are going to make many jobs redundant: Here’s how to stop a robot taking your job April 25, 2017 The power of technology to create upheaval in the global job market has never been felt more acutely. The accompanying anxiety that increasingly intelligent machines will eliminate jobs across practically every sector continues to fuel conversations among employees that the future is uncertain. The move towards smart cities and smart workforces is already in motion: [...]
14 years of returns: history’s lesson for investors June 20, 2017 The temptation among investors is to stick to what you know. That is no bad thing. It is a strategy championed by pioneers of investment such as Warren Buffett. It can work when the market is rising and you have picked the right asset. However, it is also important for investors to also consider the [...]