Labour’s war on landlords April 30, 2014 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband will today announce his party’s controversial plans for a sweeping reform of the private rented sector, as he tries to win the votes of generation rent. The plans have been accused of defying economic logic by think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, and will see Labour propose a national rent [...]
Warning to UK over runaway house prices May 6, 2014 ECONOMISTS from a group of the world’s leading wealthy countries yesterday issued a stark warning over the UK’s property market, advising British authorities to take action against surging house prices. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) added to concerns that the UK’s recent house price growth was out of sync with weak wages, [...]
How to save for retirement August 26, 2014 The peer-to-peer lending industry is booming. Figures from the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association showed that over £500m of new money was lent in the first half of 2014, with over 66,000 retail investors offering loans to individuals and small business though online platforms like Zopa. Returns can be attractive, offering the chance for both long-term capital [...]
MP Pat McFadden tells Mark Carney: You’re like an unreliable boyfriend June 24, 2014 The Bank of England was slammed by MPs yesterday, taking fire for erratic communication on when interest rates would likely begin to rise. Governor Mark Carney and other senior policymakers sent sterling down during their quizzing by politicians yesterday. Some analysts suggested that the policymakers were backing away from their new hawkish stance, with more [...]
Investment Comment: European earnings could be set to come back with a bang August 5, 2014 There is a question mark looming over European equities – when will companies deliver on earnings? So far, underwhelming earnings growth has done little to support the market’s upward march. In our view, that is poised to change. The Eurozone has a real and sustainable economic recovery underway, following four consecutive quarters of positive [...]
Banks bite back after red tape onslaught July 8, 2014 Poorly thought-out regulations are damaging Britain’s banks and hurting developing countries by cutting off access to finance, the head of the British Bankers’ Association’s (BBA) warned last night. The sector has been flooded with new regulation since the crisis, and is at last standing up to challenge it, with BBA chief Anthony Browne highlighting the [...]
The top seven changes from Carney’s report November 28, 2013 1 This is the first sign of tightening – or at least withdrawing stimulus – from the Bank of England since the crisis began, showing some parts of the economy heating up. 2 The Funding for Lending Scheme has been scrapped for mortgages. That means banks will no longer get access to cheap funding when [...]
More Bank of England officials voice support for interest rate hike soon June 19, 2014 A Bank of England policymaker yesterday argued that the UK should not “hold back too long” before hiking interest rates, adding to a chorus of calls urging a tightening earlier than was previously expected. Monetary policy committee (MPC) member Ian McCafferty said that uncertainties about the level of slack in the economy should lead the Bank [...]
London’s house prices up 17 per cent in one year April 15, 2014 LONDON’S hyperactive housing market is sending prices surging up, rising at more than three times the pace of the rest of the UK during the year to February. Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that house prices in the capital have risen by 17.7 per cent in the year to February, in comparison [...]
UK shoppers run for cover over rainy Bank Holiday weekend May 27, 2014 RETAILERS were dealt a fresh blow over the Bank Holiday weekend as the wet weather put shoppers off visiting the high street. Footfall across Greater London high streets was down by 38 per cent at midday yesterday and fell by 16.5 per cent for the rest of the UK year-on-year, data from retail analysts Springboard [...]