Why the advent of an “expert committee” doesn’t make Corbynomics any less scary September 28, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell are desperate to be seen as economically credible. As part of this, on Sunday Labour announced the creation of a new economics committee made up of the economic darlings of the left: Thomas Piketty, Danny Blanchflower, Ann Pettifor, Joseph Stiglitz, Mariana Mazzucato and Simon Wren-Lewis. Make [...]
Best of the Brokers for 11 June 2015 June 10, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com GALLIFORD TRY Panmure Gordon reiterated its “buy” rating on the miner, and highlighted the risk of structures such as Incwala, the firm’s Black Economic Empowerment partner. The broker said the “low levels of effective black ownership on a ‘look-through’ basis” and questioned its [...]
The poorest have most to gain from the Financial Conduct Authority making it easier to innovate August 25, 2015 One of the FCA’s statutory objectives is to promote effective competition in the financial services sector in the interests of consumers. As the economy continues to settle into a new phase, it is fair to ask whether the FCA should adjust the balance of its focus on market enforcement and instead ensure resources are [...]
Ronson merges petrol forecourt retailers and signs £1bn BP deal June 29, 2015 GERALD Ronson has merged his two petrol retailing businesses Snax 24 and Rontec to create one of the UK’s largest roadside retail businesses with £1.5bn of sales. The merger sees Snax 24’s 44 sites added to Rontec’s 166 forecourts to create a business with 210 petrol service stations, including two motorway sites. The enlarged Rontec [...]
Richard Caring toasts a rise in sales at his restaurant empire June 28, 2015 Richard Caring’s collection of restaurants and nightclubs recorded a rise in sales in 2013. His company, Caprice Holdings, which includes some of London’s most celebrated eateries in the Ivy, Le Caprice, Scott’s and J Sheekey, saw sales rise three per cent to £53.3m in 2013. Its sister company Mark Birley Holdings, which owns Harry’s Bar, [...]
Gender pay gap: About time to name and shame businesses who don’t promote women July 16, 2015 News that UK firms will be required to publish gender pay audits is to be applauded. Gender diversity in the workplace has been ignored for too long by UK companies and it’s about time businesses that fail to employ, support and promote women are named and shamed. Why am I so passionate about this topic? [...]
Better apprenticeships will transform UK productivity July 12, 2015 Of recent proposals to boost growth and productivity in London, by far the most controversial is the Airports Commission plan to build a third runway at Heathrow. The government is split on the issue. Both Boris and his likely successor as Tory candidate for mayor, Zac Goldsmith, are bitterly opposed. Both represent west London constituencies [...]
Bashing buy-to-let landlords will push up rents and hit the UK economy hard July 23, 2015 Buy-to-let landlords have a huge advantage in the market as they can offset their mortgage interest payments against their income, whereas homebuyers cannot.” That’s how the chancellor explained his decision in the Budget to require that landlords, unlike other businesses, effectively pay tax on their borrowings – their buy-to-let mortgage. But the chancellor has made [...]
Eurozone economic recovery struggling to gain momentum as unemployment remains high June 3, 2015 Unemployment in the currency bloc was still high at 11.1 per cent in April The Eurozone economy is gradually improving but its recovery is failing to build on a solid start to the year, figures published yesterday show. The rate of joblessness in the Eurozone edged down in April, marking 24 months of [...]
Home building unlikely to reach pre-recession levels this year April 27, 2015 The prospects for UK house building are grim, according to a survey of homebuilders published yesterday by estate agents Knight Frank. Only nine per cent of home builders said it was possible to build more than 200,000 residential units a year. The maximum number that could be built was around 180,000 or less, according to [...]