IGas share price plunges over fears of fracking ban January 26, 2015 The threat of a moratorium on fracking, which was debated in parliament yesterday, pushed shares in UK-based oil and gas explorer IGas Energy down by 28 per cent amid fears that the UK’s shale gas industry was about to be put on hold once again. After the market closed, MPs voted against the moratorium – meaning [...]
Xmas bargains await British homebuyers December 17, 2014 A THIRD of all UK properties currently on the market have seen their asking prices lowered at least once since being put up for sale, research from British property website Zoopla revealed yesterday. The figure is up from 27 per cent earlier this year and represents the highest level of discounting since August 2012. A [...]
UK manufacturing slows to three-month low January 2, 2015 UK manufacturing has hit an unexpected blip, slowing to a three-month low in December. The UK purchasing managers' index (PMI), from Markit/CIPS, slowed to 52.5, below the 53.7 score expected by economists polled by Reuters and lower too than the 53.3 recorded in October and November. Any score above 50 points indicates growth. [...]
Islington’s war on foreign investors will do nothing to solve the housing crisis December 9, 2014 ISLINGTON Council has just declared war on overseas investors. It has even coined a catchy little phrase, “buy-to-leave” investors, citing them as the cause of new homes standing empty. Under new proposals, under consultation until 30 January, owners of new builds will be unable to leave their homes empty for longer than three months or [...]
Paragon Group banks on shift from home owning as Britain becomes nation of renters November 25, 2014 Britain is increasingly becoming a nation of renters rather than home owners, Paragon Group’s boss told City A.M. yesterday. The lender increased its buy-to-let mortgage loans by more than 80 per cent this year, as homes become increasingly unaffordable. On top of sharp price rises in London, the mortgage market review (MMR) rules put in [...]
Beyond The O2 Arena: What will North Greenwich look like in 20 years? February 26, 2015 Every weekend, different tribes of people flock to The O2 Arena, from screaming One Direction fangirls to the Game of Thrones enthusiasts heading to the upcoming expo. One thing they all have in common is that they’re inevitably funnelled out of North Greenwich afterwards via the Jubilee Line, knowing next to nothing about the stretch [...]
CRH share prices rises as Irish aggregates firm nets Holcim Lafarge assets February 2, 2015 Irish building materials group CRH’s deal to buy the assets being offloaded by cement firms Holcim and Lafarge ahead of their planned merger was “too good to turn down”, the company’s chief executive Albert Manifold said yesterday. CRH announced on Sunday that it had entered into a binding commitment with Holcim and Lafarge to acquire [...]
London Report: FTSE falls on BT pension fears and builders June 16, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index slipped yesterday as concerns about a large increase in its pension deficit hit BT Group, while housebuilders extended their recent sell-off on prospects of a UK rate hike. BT fell 2.4 per cent, one of the biggest drags on the FTSE 100. Traders cited a Sunday Times report which said that [...]
Tesco share price: One chart showing the rise, fall – and rise again? – of a retail empire January 8, 2015 Is turning around a supertanker really this easy? Tesco's share price rebounded more than nine per cent this morning after the retailer posted results showing Christmas sales fell a mere 2.9 per cent. Admittedly, that's hardly an impressive performance – but it's better than analysts had expected. If you're on a mobile, tap on the [...]
Businesses including PwC, KPMG and Axa back four-week limit on unpaid internships proposed by campaign group Intern Aware February 26, 2015 Some of the UK’s biggest businesses are backing a ban on internships which force young people to work for long periods of time without pay. Accountancy giants KPMG and PwC along with insurance firm Axa are putting their weight behind campaigner’s calls to place a four-week limit on internships which do not offer pay. Campaign [...]