Services surge ahead yet UK’s industry slows September 3, 2014 BRITISH services are reporting the fastest growth this year so far, even as the country’s manufacturers report a slowdown, suggesting that the recent expansion may be unbalancing. The August survey of the services sector conducted by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) and Markit came in at 60.5 – the strongest since November [...]
Ex-Ofcom boss Dame Colette Bowe hired to keep tabs on bankers October 9, 2014 Dame Colette Bowe was appointed yesterday to head the new Banking Standards Review Council (BSRC), a body which aims to promote and maintain good behaviour in finance. The council was set up by former CBI chief Sir Richard Lambert, at the behest of the big banks, as an independent body to monitor behaviour in [...]
Who will fix it for Homebase if nation stops doing DIY? – Brand Index November 4, 2014 Homebase, the home improvement giant, has announced that it is to close about a quarter of its 323 stores, raising questions as to whether this a necessary restructuring or because the nation – and particularly the younger generation – has fallen out of love with DIY. With house prices increasing over the past few years, [...]
This time last year Foxtons was an investor favourite – what happened? December 4, 2014 It was just over a year ago that London estate agent Foxtons became the darling of the London Stock Exchange with a stonkingly successful IPO. Having floated at 230p, valuing it at £649m, shares in the company rose sharply to a peak of 285.5p in its first day of trading. By the end of February, [...]
We can solve Britain’s housing crisis. Here’s how February 27, 2014 IF WE could build and heat homes with the hot air generated by the UK’s housing crisis debate, we would solve both issues in one go. Eighteen months ago, the issue was the availability of mortgage finance. We could not build because our customers could not borrow, and that was dragging the volume of new [...]
RateSetter founders Peter Behrens and Rhydian Lewis talk banks, Australia and dwarves November 9, 2014 Ask the founders of a business if they’ve got a good setback story, and they’ll usually give you something fairly typecast. Not in the case of RateSetter. “Pete the painter,” answers Peter Behrens firmly, looking over to co-founder Rhydian Lewis. It seems completely off piste, but it actually shows that rumbling the status quo, [...]
ARM is betting on the Internet of Things with new mbed OS October 1, 2014 ARM, the uk chipmaker which makes processors for most of the world’s smartphones and tablets, is creating a new operating system for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The mbed OS is designed to use as little battery and memory as possible and will work in devices which use its own chips in a bid to [...]
Hammerson raises £400m to go shopping September 25, 2014 HAMMERSON said yesterday it had raised £400m through a share placing as it planned to ramp up its exposure to the Europe’s booming outlet sector. The FTSE 100 property giant sold its last office building this month as part of a strategy launched two years ago to focus solely on prime regional shopping centres, retail [...]
SSE share price scarred by fire at Ferrybridge September 29, 2014 Shares in SSE fell 0.4 per cent to 1,516 pence this morning, following news that two units in its Ferrybridge power station are still out of action. A fire broke out at the Yorkshire-based power plant on 31 July, damaging units three and four. In a statement released earlier today, SSE confirmed that it [...]
Africa isn’t a country: Don’t judge this thriving continent by the Ebola crisis October 14, 2014 REPORTS of people cancelling safari holidays in Kenya and South Africa due to fears of Ebola (over 3,000 miles away in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) are the latest manifestation of the devastating impact on African economies wrought by the perception of Africa as one homogenous place. Nowhere else in the world would 54 countries, [...]