House prices: China stock market crash ripples add to overseas and UK property costs September 9, 2015 City A.M. billed it as ‘Shanghai Shockwave’ and that summed up the wider impact of China’s great sell-off. Stock markets tumbled the world over and mainstream newspapers conveyed public concerns over pensions and investments. The currency market was also rocked. The pound weakened sharply against the euro as expectations of a Bank of England interest [...]
Liberty House to restart large steel bar and rod rolling mill in Kent October 14, 2016 Industrials group Liberty House has ploughed more investment into the UK steel industry and is set to revive a large mill in Kent by mid-next year, the company said today. Liberty will restart rod and bar rolling mills at the facility in Sheerness in Kent, which shut down more than four years ago. The group [...]
Q&A: What makes Britain’s family businesses tick? October 27, 2016 Family businesses are rarely mentioned in the debate about how best to support Britain’s smaller companies, and yet they make up a sizeable proportion of SMEs. According to the Institute for Family Business (IFB), of the 4.6m family-owned firms in the UK, 99.6 per cent are small. To find out more, we spoke with professor [...]
BoE deputy governor: London’s financial services firms could go to New York October 12, 2016 A top official at the Bank of England has warned New York could poach some of London's financial services firms if the UK does not secure a good Brexit deal. Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor with responsibility for financial stability, said while the threat from European financial hubs like Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam was unlikely to [...]
Back in business: Housebuilding jumps as Brexit fears fade October 4, 2016 Construction activity in the UK has grown for the first time in five months as builders regain their mojo in the wake of the EU referendum. The closely-watched purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the sector came in at 52.3 for the month of September, comfortably above the 50 score which represents stagnation. It was also [...]
Better infrastructure and new houses: Here’s how to invest for a post-Brexit fiscal stimulus October 4, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond used his party conference speech yesterday to tell the public that the government is prepared to take “whatever steps are necessary to protect this economy from turbulence”. Though he gave a nod to his predecessor’s commitment to fiscal consolidation, new spending plans are widely expected when he delivers his first Autumn Statement in [...]
Retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone says Brexit will hit growth plans September 2, 2016 UK retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone said today that June's EU referendum had cast doubt on its plans for growth. Shares in the company are down by more than 10 per cent in this morning's trading. [charts-share-price id="512"] Ahead of reporting its full year results in November, McCarthy & Stone said today that legal completions [...]
Now even Donald Tusk has told Theresa May to get going on Brexit negotiations September 8, 2016 It isn't just fed-up UK politicians who want the UK to get going on Brexit negotiations: European Council president Donald Tusk has told Theresa May to start the process "as soon as possible", according to reports. Tusk told May "the ball is now in your court" during a meeting at Downing Street this morning. "Our [...]
Construction supplier Travis Perkins says demand weakened after the Brexit vote – and says housing transactions are “unlikely to be positive” after the Brexit vote August 2, 2016 Builder's merchant Travis Perkins share price was hit this morning after the company said sales growth in July was knocked by the Brexit vote. The construction materials supplier's share price fell by 2.72 per cent in morning trading, despite announcing in its interims that like-for-like sales were up by 3.1 per cent in the six months to the end [...]
Deal-making at investment banks is set to hit a 10-year high October 4, 2016 Investment banks are eyeing up a bumper year of deal-making as activity in the money markets is set to hit its highest level in a decade. The volumes of cash flowing through investment houses in the shape of debt and capital market (DCM) activity hit $5.2 trillion (£4.1 trillion) in the first nine months of [...]