A new Newlon resident tells us how becoming a Shared Owner has given her a sense of pride and achievement.
Why Britain shouldn’t fear a stronger pound April 30, 2014 THE RISING pound is causing some concern. “City squeezed by stronger pound” proclaimed the headline in Monday’s City A.M. – reporting the impact of sterling’s rise on the translation of overseas profits. There have also been worries that a rising pound could stifle the recovery of manufacturing output and exports. So what are the facts? [...]
An inconvenient truth about Britain’s growing housing crisis May 6, 2014 IT WAS hard not to despair at the latest scare story on empty homes – apparently, there are 60,000 of them being “hoarded” by rich “buy to leave” investors in London alone, and the Labour leader is going to do something about it. There’s just a problem. The figures are nonsense, they don’t relate to [...]
What you need to know before the open March 25, 2014 European bourses are expected to see a positive start this morning, although trading’s still choppy as geopolitical tensions continue. Speculation on further stimulus from China has been growing, which seems to have boosted sentiment. On the other hand, this could be misplaced – the government’s determined to trim recklessness in the banking system, so added [...]
Why Britain’s changing economy needs a fresh monetary strategy April 9, 2014 THE PICK-UP in UK economic growth, which started last year, has continued into 2014 and appears to have gathered further momentum. Earlier this week, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Economic Survey painted a picture of strong demand at home and abroad in both manufacturing and services industries. The survey also showed that companies are [...]
What you need to know before the open May 7, 2014 With the situation in Ukraine deteriorating, global markets are finding it difficult to push higher. The improvement in economic data from Europe yesterday was paired with the OECD slashing its forecast for the Russian economy. And that’s been followed this morning with some less-than-impressive services data for China, which makes it look less likely the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 19 June 2014 June 18, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES US share dividends hit record US share buybacks and dividend payments climbed to a record level in the first quarter of 2014, as companies chose to boost shareholder returns in the absence of robust revenue growth. Members of the S&P 500 index – led by Apple, IBM, ExxonMobil and FedEx – spent $241bn [...]
Chancellor hopes for 200,000 new homes as a result of budget measures March 19, 2014 George Osborne has announced the government will be providing support to small housebuilding firms, with £150m used for new build housing. The construction of a new garden city at Ebbsfleet was also confirmed. The chancellor said the measures taken in the budget would support over 200,000 new homes, with 120,000 built as a result of [...]
The global economic recovery remains on track – for now at least May 29, 2014 WHAT is going on in America? The US economy collapsed in the first quarter – and true to form, Wall Street’s reaction was to send share prices surging. The reason was neither callousness nor even a short-termist, self-interested calculation that bad news means looser money – much more positively, it was that everybody can see [...]
Kingfisher returns £200m to shareholders March 25, 2014 KINGFISHER, the owner of DIY chains B&Q and Screwfix, announced plans to hand £200m to shareholders as brighter prospects in the UK helped boost its full-year performance, sending shares up six per cent yesterday. Finance director Karen Witts said it will launch a multi-year programme starting with £200m in this financial year – its first [...]
The City’s charm offensive to win over Brussels March 24, 2014 THE TIDE of anti-bank rules and regulations are damaging jobs and growth across Europe, City campaigners warned yesterday. Lobbyists are hoping to persuade the next crop of MEPs to see the financial sector as a positive force which helps other firms grow, rather than as a dangerous industry in need of more regulation, an attitude [...]