Budget 2015: A quick guide to all the key measures March 18, 2015 Chancellor delivers good news for savers and first-time buyers as he turns up heat on banks in play for votes ahead of election. UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ● The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year. However, the economy grew by just 0.5 per cent in the final three months of 2014, [...]
Your Isa checklist: How you can make the most of your Isa in heightened volatility March 26, 2015 With just two weeks to go before the end of the tax year, and given the big tax advantages the Isa wrapper can offer investors, there is no shortage of advice on why you should make full use of your £15,000 allowance before 5 April. But filling up your Isa is only half the battle. [...]
London can solve its housing crisis – if the public sector stops sitting on land November 5, 2014 THERE is a wonderful description of London from 1622, written by the pamphleteer Donald Lupton. He evokes the “Great Beehive”, “swarming” with people, the capital “a glutton that desires always to be full”. Now the largest city in Europe, Lupton’s characterisation of 400 years ago will be one that many Londoners recognise today. Of course, [...]
The world’s brightest will shun the UK if isolationist rhetoric doesn’t stop now January 8, 2015 We all have our own image of UK entrepreneurship. Sir Richard Branson is a common first choice, and Sir James Dyson is another. For me, it is the Indian Restaurateur. When I first founded Cobra Beer 25 years ago, it was these tireless, unsung heroes of UK entrepreneurship who placed their trust and belief in [...]
IMF: Seven in 10 Eurozone banks are still too weak October 16, 2014 Most Eurozone banks are too weak to give out loans and support any economic recovery, a top International Monetary Fund (IMF) official warned yesterday. The banking sector in the euro area is only just getting to grips with bad debts and inefficiencies, according to Jose Vinals, the director of the monetary and capital markets department [...]
Which banks failed the European stress tests? Italy came out worst, followed by Greece and Cyprus October 27, 2014 25 banks failed the EU-wide stress tests carried out by the European Central Bank (ECB), according to results released this morning. The aim of the tests was to assess the resilience of EU banks to adverse economic developments and determine whether they could withstand another financial crisis. Based on banks' financial health at [...]
London is no Silicon Valley – here’s why that may be a good thing October 20, 2014 Geeks and startup types are again gathering today in Billingsgate for TechCrunch’s Disrupt conference, a celebration of London’s tech sector. There’s a lot to celebrate: the sector hasn’t been this hot since the days of the dot-com boom. Investors are toasting two billion-dollar exits this year: games designers Natural Motion and artificial intelligence wizards Deep [...]
Margaret Thatcher secret documents: Six revelations including the BBC, nuclear bunkers and the poll tax December 30, 2014 Files released today by the national archives in Kew, West London have given us an insight into Thatcher era policy during the height of the Cold War. From plans to build nuclear bunkers, to crackdowns on football hooligans and eerie predictions for the future global financial crisis here are some of the best bits. Britons [...]
Lending Club flotation: It’s good news and bad news December 12, 2014 Lending Club is a US-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lender. It acts as a conduit for the passage of money from individuals and institutions to businesses. Some call that crowdfunding – though increasingly that term is being reserved for platforms that raise money for equity, or property investment, or special purposes such as charity. Whatever you [...]
Somalian firms come to London to raise profile at Somalia Oil & Gas Summit October 20, 2014 Oil and gas exploration firms from Somalia will be trying to generate further interest in the region at the second Somalia Oil & Gas Summit, which starts in London today. Robert Sheppard, chief executive of the event’s lead sponsor Soma Oil & Gas, told City A.M.: “This is a great opportunity to highlight that the [...]