UK wealth inequality is widening as climbing house prices due to quantitative easing drive home ownership down – Standard & Poor’s February 10, 2016 While quantitative easing (QE) may have helped to stabilise the UK economy, it has also led to a wider gulf between rich and poor, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P) – and it has also pushed home ownership even farther out of reach for younger people. QE has exacerbated wealth disparity by boosting financial asset and [...]
Why the build-to-rent sector is key to solving London’s dire housing affordability crisis February 25, 2016 London's housing shortage is putting the capital’s future at risk. The success of this great city is fuelled by its ability to attract talent, both nationally and internationally. But there is a danger that young professionals will be put off working here by growing housing costs, cramped and insecure conditions, or long and expensive commutes. [...]
Why Brexit won’t be a disaster (and as former City minister, I should know) May 24, 2016 As someone who spent 25 years working in finance, four years scrutinising the Treasury as a backbencher, and then two years first as City minister, now as Energy Minister, I've seen at first hand the economic cycles, the disasters and triumphs. These experiences tell me that the UK has an outstanding future as a free trading global [...]
We’ve not even scratched the surface of fintech’s true potential – and banks will struggle to keep up May 26, 2016 Fintech innovation has seen rapid growth over the past few years and is producing businesses with scalable products. In turn, senior executives at banks are responding to the challenge these businesses present and have begun to set up their own incubators to capture this rapid innovation. Driving much of this has been the rise of [...]
UK house prices: Asking prices reach record highs due to first-time seller surge, according to Rightmove April 2016 house price index April 18, 2016 If you had been hoping the property market would become easier to enter this month, you might still have to wait a while… UK house prices continued to rise throughout March, according to Rightmove, and the average asking price has reached a new record high of £307,033. This was a rise of 1.3 per cent, or £3,843, compared [...]
Five of the best: Ethical banks to stash your savings June 22, 2016 Banks have been mired in scandal over the last decade. The 2008 financial crisis has been followed by countless investigations and fines. Big banks have variously been caught out for mis-selling products, violating sanctions and manipulating prices of gold, silver, currencies, and libor interest rates. Not surprisingly, headlines have been filled with ire over banks’ unseemly [...]
How financial services Goliaths can survive the threat of fintech Davids May 11, 2016 Fintech disrupters versus traditional financial services incumbents. To some, this supposed rivalry resembles that of the battle where the smaller and more agile David slays the large and mighty Goliath. But is this necessarily the fate that lies ahead for the big banks? It’s easy to understand how this rivalry has been built up, with fintech [...]
City Moves for 5 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 5, 2016 ISS Global provider of facility services for public agencies and private sector companies ISS has named Richard Sykes to the ISS executive group management as regional chief executive western Europe. Effective no later than 1 October, Richard will continue to be based out of the UK in his new role. Currently CEO ISS UK & [...]
McCarthy & Stone share price rises after retirement home builder reports 33 per cent revenue growth April 19, 2016 McCarthy & Stone's share price was up this morning after the retirement home builder reported 33 per cent revenue growth. The figures In the six months to 29 February, McCarthy & Stone reported revenue of £250.2m, up from £188.5m in the same period last year. Its underlying pre-tax profit was £39.1m, up 23 per cent from [...]
Why British homeowners still aren’t buying into the idea of the home connected by smart tech June 29, 2016 Take any object in your home and you can guarantee that at some point a Silicon Valley startup has tried to create a web-enabled version of it. The ever expanding “Internet of Things” (IoT), as it’s clunkily termed, now includes almost every household item under the sun. Many are useful, such as thermostats, light bulbs, [...]