As Halifax reports buyer confidence slipping, is the housing market finally cooling down? July 28, 2014 Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Global Insight, says Yes. It’s not guaranteed that current signs that the housing market is cooling will prove lasting, but house price growth has likely peaked. The new regulations under the Mortgage Market Review have clearly had at least a temporary effect in taking some steam [...]
Deficit reduction target at risk as George Osborne borrows £11.6bn in August despite rise in tax revenues September 23, 2014 The UK government had to borrow £11.6bn in August as it failed to slash the budget deficit, putting chancellor George Osborne’s borrowing targets for the year at risk. In his March statement, Osborne aimed to cut £10bn off government borrowing in 2014-15, compared to the year before. But new figures from the Office for National [...]
Kingston’s Bentall Centre up for grabs with £200m-plus price tag October 16, 2014 Bentall shopping centre in Kingston upon Thames has been put up for sale after one of its owners appointed advisers to sell its 50 per cent stake, with a price-tag of around £200m. It is one of the busiest malls in Greater London, with 700,000 square feet of space and 14m visitors a year from [...]
As the public finances deteriorated in August, has Osborne given up on tackling the deficit? September 23, 2014 Scott Corfe, senior economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. One of the great myths of the current parliament is that it has been dominated by austerity. The figures show that this clearly isn’t the case. The government is struggling to get the deficit down. Borrowing in the fiscal year to [...]
London’s house prices soar 12pc February 18, 2014 HOUSE prices in the capital have pulled further away from those in the rest of the country, official figures showed yesterday. London’s prices jumped by 12.3 per cent in the 12 months to December, more than double the 5.5 per cent rise in the UK as a whole, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The increase [...]
UK construction index surges ahead of expectations September 2, 2014 UK construction powered ahead last month, with the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rising above consensus expectations. August's construction PMI rose to 64 – its highest since January, and well above the consensus line of 61.5. The markets had been expecting a drop from July's level of 62.4. It is also above its average [...]
EE hopes TV will spur broadband sign up growth October 8, 2014 The chief executive of Britain’s biggest mobile operator is hoping TV will unlock a new growth story for EE. Yesterday, the telecoms giant unveiled a TV offering in a move that would send a warning shot across the bows of rivals BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media which have fought between themselves over who has [...]
Tax cuts and deregulation: How free markets can slash the cost of living September 25, 2014 Rolling back state intervention across the economy and cutting taxes could save some families up to £7,800 a year, according to a new report from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The free market think tank has produced the report as part of it's 2020 Vision initiative, which provides a host of publications and films [...]
SIG profits soar on UK recovery August 12, 2014 BUILDING supplies company SIG yesterday reported a 23.5 per cent jump in half-year profit, buoyed by the UK construction recovery. Pre-tax profit rose to £41.5m and revenue increased 6.5 per cent to £1.29bn. “Trading conditions in the UK have continued to gather momentum, led by the revival in the housing market,” said chief executive Stuart [...]
Aviva Investors’ Euan Munro on why markets will see more Wobbly Wednesdays November 11, 2014 It’s lunchtime at Aviva Investors’ offices at No.1 Poultry, but the three platters of fish, meat and vegetable sandwiches supplied by catering lie untouched on the table. Euan Munro, chief executive of the fund management house, is sitting drinking full fat Coca-Cola from a glass, while the pungent aroma of the Coq d’Argent restaurant upstairs [...]