Davis returns to haunt Glencore with $3bn miner September 30, 2013 FORMER Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis reinforced his comeback into the mining sector yesterday, with the announcement that his new mining venture has raised $1bn (£618m). Private equity firm TPG and commodities trading house Noble have invested $500m each in X2 Resources, which aims “to create a new mid-tier diversified mining and metals group by…identifying [...]
Housing bubble threat underscores pressing need to revise Help to Buy August 16, 2013 HELP to Buy has been widely criticised by experts, academics and journalists as a dangerous policy. In the long term, in a supply constrained system, simply increasing lending does not build a single extra house. And due to the planning system’s failures, we have an incredibly supply constrained system. From 2000 to 2007 lending doubled, [...]
Lenders to face crisis survival tests every year October 1, 2013 BRITAIN’S biggest lenders will be put through their paces every year to see if their capital buffers will keep them afloat through a range of possible economic stresses and strains, the Bank of England said yesterday. The new tests aim to make sure banks’ capital buffers are adequate, and to standardise the approach taken to [...]
Against the Grain: It’s time to fight the claim that consumer choice doesn’t improve public services November 5, 2013 DO CHOICE and competition between suppliers improve the quality of outcomes for consumers? The answer may seem so obvious to City A.M. readers that it’s hardly worth asking. But a powerful strand of political opinion is building up to an attack on the concept. The new Labour shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh said last week [...]
City Moves for 5 August 2013 | Who’s switching jobs August 4, 2013 Pramerica Real Estate Investors The real estate investment management business has announced the appointment of Eric Adler as chief executive. Adler is currently chief investment officer at Pramerica, having joined the company in 2010 as head of European operations. He was previously as Tishman Speyer, where he co-directed its European activities, and was a member [...]
Housing bubble threat underscores pressing need to revise Help to Buy August 13, 2013 HELP to Buy has been widely criticised by experts, academics and journalists as a dangerous policy. In the long term, in a supply constrained system, simply increasing lending does not build a single extra house. And due to the planning system’s failures, we have an incredibly supply constrained system. From 2000 to 2007 lending doubled, [...]
Housebuilding drives construction output up in second quarter August 9, 2013 Output in the UK construction industry increased by 1.4 per cent in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter and 0.5 per cent year-on-year. This was driven primarily by housebuilding, which rose by 8.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter. New orders were at a 15-month high fuelled by residential building. The Office for [...]
Funders need guarantees before they will invest in infrastructure September 18, 2013 BRITAIN is failing to build the infrastructure it requires because the government does not give enough clarity on what returns investors can expect, a new report will claim today. Private sector backers want to invest in new UK infrastructure but the government does not currently offer enough long-term assurances on the risks associated with individual [...]
Letters to the Editor – 27/09 – Lessons from Italy, Labour on housing, Best of Twitter September 26, 2013 Lessons from Italy [Re: Lessons from Italy: What happens when businesses are forced to move abroad, yesterday] The same piece could have be written about France. Unfortunately, both France and Italy’s political elites – who are trained as civil service administrators and possess no business experience – are unlikely to heed the warnings. Pierrick Moreaux [...]
Digitising Whitehall could save taxpayers up to £24bn a year September 1, 2013 CIVIL servants should eliminate the use of paper when interacting with the public and model their working practices on internet start-ups, according to a report released today. Influential think tank Policy Exchange says the existing Whitehall model is failing to take advantage of technological change. It believes that if the state can match the productivity [...]