Shoppers unfazed by market headwinds as confidence rises – Deloitte October 19, 2015 Optimism in the economy reached a four-year high in the third quarter, according to the latest consumer tracker from accountancy giant Deloitte. Consumer confidence rose by two percentage points to -7 per cent, from -5 per cent in the second quarter. Consumers were apparently unperturbed by the recent volatility global financial markets that saw the FTSE [...]
Bank of England may put cap on lending for buy-to-let landlords September 27, 2015 THE BOOMING buy-to-let mortgage market is putting the UK’s banking system at risk, the Bank of England has warned. Officials are watching for lenders making it easier for would-be landlords to get loans, with the government weighing up whether to give the Bank powers to cap buy-to-let lending as it can for owner-occupied loans. A [...]
EU referendum: Eurosceptics and Europhiles tear apart Cameron’s reform demands November 10, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has come under criticism from both European Union officials and members of his own political party over his European Union reform agenda. Cameron spelled out new details of his top demands, including major changes to welfare benefits for EU migrants in the UK, in a speech in central London yesterday morning. [...]
City A.M.’s journalists take a look at what 2016 has in store for the world of finance and business January 4, 2016 BANKING Strengthening outlook despite more regulatory bumps ahead Bank of England governor Mark Carney may have declared the banking crisis officially over at the end of last year, but 2016 looks to be far from a challenge-free year for Britain’s biggest banks. To be sure, all seven of the UK’s leading lenders passed the Bank’s [...]
Now Lidl’s getting into the online grocery delivery business after Amazon Fresh’s UK debut and Aldi’s plans, taking on Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons November 24, 2015 Fresh from Amazon's launch into the highly competitive grocery delivery game with Pantry, is fellow supermarket disrupter Lidl about to follow suit? The German discounter, which is already giving the big four a run for their money in bricks and mortar, has snapped up a fresh food delivery startup in its home country. Kochzaube, which delivers fresh [...]
BT’s broadband network dominance is bad for customers, innovation and the country November 10, 2015 The frustrations with Openreach expressed by Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao yesterday are shared by millions of customers and businesses as well as Sky. The current structure where one provider, BT, has complete ownership of the national broadband network has led to unacceptable levels of service, reduced competition, and a poverty of ambition in terms [...]
Global construction market to grow by 85 per cent to $15.5 trillion by 2030 November 10, 2015 The global construction market is expected to grow by 85 per cent to $15.5 trillion worldwide by 2030, new research shows, with China, US and India leading the way and accounting for 57 per cent of all global growth. The latest study from industry analysts Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics predicts that growth in [...]
London property prices: Business bears the cost of the government’s housing failures October 20, 2015 London's housing crisis is a human tragedy. The London Poverty Profile, released today, shows that housing costs are the major driver of a big increase in the number of Londoners who are in work but still living in poverty. But the housing crisis is also an economic tragedy. It is damaging the competitiveness of businesses, [...]
London airport expansion: Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye puts extra pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron over third runway February 8, 2016 Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye has insisted that air quality at his west London airport is "not a problem" as he put even more pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to give the green light to a third runway. In his first speech since the government delayed making a final ruling on the Airports Commission's recommendations last [...]
Property tech sector is battling inertia to shake up Britain’s housing industry December 8, 2015 The UK property technology sector has undeniably seen substantial growth over the past 18 months. In June last year, the property portal Zoopla listed for approximately £1bn. Since then we have seen the launch of a startup accelerator dedicated to early stage property businesses and a large amount of capital invested into young companies which [...]