London house price danger flagged by IMF review June 6, 2014 The UK's government has this morning received a far more glowing appraisal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) than it has become used to. The supranational organisation has delivered its Article IV mission findings, noting that the UK's economy "has rebounded strongly and growth is becoming more balanced". Among its other points, the IMF lists [...]
Tax expensive homes more, European Commission tells UK June 3, 2014 George Osborne’s been urged to up council taxes on higher value properties today – by the European Commission. The commission’s said that, in order to keep house prices under control, the UK also needs to build more houses and trim the Help to Buy 2 scheme – where the government advances 15 per cent of [...]
Why ultra-modern P2P lenders are starting to look like old-style building societies April 3, 2014 Peer to peer lenders are getting big. And as they grow, they are pushed into a new way of doing business – a way of doing business that looks increasingly like banks and building societies. P2P lenders have boomed since the crisis, as banks cut back lending and savers looked for a better return on [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Reactions to George Osborne’s announcement – from the City economist to the property expert December 3, 2014 THE BUSINESS GROUP Confederation of British Industry director general John Cridland Growing firms will benefit from business rates reform. We welcome continued commitment to deficit reduction. “These major changes on stamp duty and business rates will be a shot in the arm for families and growing firms as they look towards 2015. [...]
London is booming. We must allow it to fulfil its true potential May 15, 2014 WE all know that London emerged from the crisis remarkably unscathed. But few realise just how well our great city has performed over the past 15 years, and how we have grown faster than almost all comparable metropolises since the recession. In 1997, London boasted 1.59m employee jobs in office-based sectors. Today, the number is [...]
Employment upswing set to continue until election May 6, 2014 THE SURGE in UK employment is set to continue, with nearly half a million more people expected to enter the workforce in the next 12 months according to a bullish forecast released this morning. Research by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Grant Thornton suggests that more than 450,000 new [...]
UK low-carbon exports to hit £30bn by 2020 May 5, 2014 THE UK’S low-carbon exports could rise to £30bn by 2020 if smaller companies are given more government support, according to a new report commissioned by energy giant Shell. To triple the country’s exports of low-carbon goods and services by the end of the decade, the study identifies a £15bn annual opportunity in four promising markets [...]
Pedal to the metal May 11, 2014 Annabel Palmer meets POD Point founder Erik Fairbairn, who’s helping drive the electric car revolution IT’S RARE to find an entrepreneur who, just midway through growing a business, is entirely candid about their exit plan. But Erik Fairbairn – founder of POD Point – plans to create 10 companies “this lifetime”. At 37, and already [...]
Watchdog tells Lafarge Tarmac to sell off plant October 8, 2013 BRITAIN’S monopoly regulator yesterday said it wanted to boost competition in the cement industry by requiring Lafarge Tarmac, one of the major players, to sell a cement plant to a new entrant in the market. “The best way to disturb the balance of a market where producers have focused on retaining their respective market shares [...]
We do need fresh economic thinking – just not more public spending April 29, 2014 THE ANNUAL Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) conference was held in Toronto earlier this month. Launched in the autumn of 2009, INET was created by George Soros in response to the economic crisis. Mainstream economics certainly bears a heavy responsibility for building an intellectual climate prior to the crash that asserted that the problems [...]