Investment adds to growth hopes May 22, 2014 ■ Strong growth confirmed for the first quarter – which could still be revised upwards ■ Manufacturing and business investment improvements suggest a broadening recovery ■ But public finance figures disappoint, with the continuing rise of the budget deficit THE CONTINUED recovery of the British economy was confirmed yesterday, with growth at a solid 0.8 [...]
Supply shortfall driving London housing market March 17, 2014 EACH property on the London market is chased by 13 buyers, according to shocking new figures that show the strength of demand in the capital. According to estate agents Barnard Marcus, the number of buyers has surged by 25 per cent in the past year, and the number of transactions is up 20 per cent [...]
What you need to know before the open April 15, 2014 European markets are expected flat to mixed this morning, following yesterday’s turnaround on the back of a strong retail sales reading from the US, which quelled fears over the situation in Ukraine. The concern is, though, that investors have over-valued the retail sector. And meanwhile, there are worries that the EU’s somewhat muddled response to [...]
Booming housing market could see Help to Buy scaled back February 18, 2014 UK house prices continued their forward march at the end of 2013, with the capital pulling even further ahead from the pack and the average house price hitting £250,000. Figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown London house prices rose 0.9 per cent in December, putting them more than a fifth higher than [...]
Capital raised on London Stock Exchange rockets by 91pc March 27, 2014 The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has seen the amount of money raised on its markets rocket by 91 per cent to £28bn for the 11 months to February 2014. The rise provides yet more evidence of London's flotation flurry. New issues climbed from 107 to 109 for the period. Derivatives trading volumes also jumped by [...]
January mortgage approvals up over a third from a year ago February 20, 2014 More fuel to stoke house price fear fires this morning, with added evidence that market activity started 2014 very much on the front foot. Mortgage approvals hit their highest level in six years in the final quarter of 2013, averaging 70,000. And in January, they were up 33 per cent year-on-year. According to figures from [...]
Barratt profits jump as their typical house price rises to £194,000 September 11, 2013 Barratt Developments hasn't just seen pre-tax profits jump (up from £100m to £104.8m in the year ended 30 June) but average selling prices too (release). Some solid numbers, and dividend payments are set to recommence (not new information). On that basis, CS are calling Barratt up one to two per cent on the open. A [...]
This press release sums up everything that’s wrong with the UK’s house price obsession February 18, 2014 If there's a blindspot in the UK's collective understanding of economics – house prices is certainly it. In no other area would we so excitedly greet news of rising prices. That public relations officers feel we should want to applaud news of house prices well above their pre-crisis high is an insult. "Like chinks of sunlight, [...]
Letters to the Editor – 03/04 – Royal Mail, City villages, Best of Twitter April 2, 2014 Royal Mail It’s impossible to accurately price something in the absence of a market, but that does not excuse the government for wasting taxpayer money on the Royal Mail float. Business secretary Vince Cable’s search for long-term investors inevitably reduced demand. And it should come as no surprise that many investors identified as long-termists didn’t [...]
Why it’s not too late to play the UK’s economic recovery April 29, 2014 But investors must be ultra-selective to see any long-term gains AFTER two scintillating years for British equities, which saw shares boom alongside a surprisingly strong economic recovery, many UK-focused stocks have come off the boil. The mid-cap FTSE 250 (whose constituents draw over half of their sales from Britain) is down almost 0.6 per cent [...]