“Flash crash” trader Navinder Singh Sarao remains in custody as court grants extra seven days to raise £5m bail April 29, 2015 Navinder Singh Sarao, the man charged with contributing to the "flash crash" of 2010, has been remanded in custody for another seven days after failing to pay £5m bail. A court today granted Sarao the extra time to raise cash as he fights extradition to the US over his alleged involvement in the crash which [...]
Labour has performed a U-turn on the EU membership referendum, as Cameron prepares legislation May 24, 2015 Labour has performed a balletic U-turn this morning, abandoning its opposition to EU membership referendum. Harriet Harman, the acting leader of the party, has given David Cameron a boost by saying her party will vote in favour of the Conservative’s bill, which would see a vote on the UK’s EU membership before the end of [...]
UK household wealth increased by 20 per cent to £9 trillion last year, driven by property prices and financial assets May 15, 2015 Plunging oil prices and the supermarket price war might be bad for the businesses involved – but for consumers, the overall effect has been a massive positive. In fact, new research has suggested UK households' total wealth increased by £1.5 trillion to £9 trillion last year. That's a rise of just under 20 per cent. [...]
David Cameron looks to City for new business advisory group with bosses from BP, EasyJet and Santander July 27, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed a new slate of 19 City leaders to his business advisory group, including more than a dozen chief executives of UK blue chips. The chief executives of BP, Legal & General, EasyJet, Land Securities, the London Stock Exchange Group, Persimmon, Asda, ARM, Severn Trent and Rolls Royce all [...]
Fintech is booming – but where are the insurance tech startups? September 17, 2015 As a technology investor, I spend my days scouring Europe in search of the next big thing. London’s fintech scene has been a profitable hunting ground of late. With the UK fintech industry generating $20bn in revenue annually, it is not surprising that $5.4bn has been invested in British fintech companies since 2010. [...]
Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon share prices dip as fears about Labour rent control plans take hold April 27, 2015 Housing experts warned that Labour plans to bring in rent controls could lead to investors pulling out of the rental market. The Association of Rental Letting Agents (ARLA) said yesterday that three-quarters of its members feared the plans would “see landlords exit the market and reduce supply”. Such fears led to an immediate [...]
July Budget 2015 – changes to mortgage tax relief: Here’s what to do now if you’re a buy-to-let landlord July 8, 2015 A major shake-up of the buy-to-let housing market could be about to take place, after chancellor George Osborne announced plans to change mortgage tax relief for landlords. In his Budget speech today, the chancellor said the relief will be cut to 20 per cent, from 40 to 45 per cent, in an effort to "level [...]
Strong jobs report gives George Osborne boost at PMQs June 17, 2015 Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne took centre stage in the House of Commons yesterday, buoyed by strong new jobs numbers. Standing in for the first time in place of Prime Minister David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), Osborne welcomed the support of Tory backbenchers citing the latest labour market statistics and singing [...]
Ivan Massow: I don’t love Heathrow – but we shouldn’t let Nimbyism block a crucial new runway July 20, 2015 It’s no secret that London Conservatives are deeply divided on Heathrow expansion. So far, I’m the party’s only mayoral candidate to support the Davies Commission’s recommendation that the airport should get a third runway. In fact, one of us would rather resign than see it happen. I was there when Jeffrey Archer “resigned” as the [...]
David Cameron goes Dutch on first leg of EU reform tour: The Netherlands is a good start as the PM looks for allies May 28, 2015 “Old friends and like-minded allies” was how David Cameron described the relationship between the UK and the Netherlands when he was in The Hague yesterday, kicking off his whistle-stop tour of visits to EU leaders to build up support for the changes he wants to made to European policy. “Like-minded” has certainly been the case [...]