London housing bubble inflates further August 13, 2013 LONDON house prices soared to more than 12-times the average income in June, official figures showed yesterday, as economists warned the boom could prove unsustainable. Government policies to keep interest rates low and help first time buyers onto the property ladder are pumping up a bubble, analysts said. The average price in [...]
Rates likely to stay low despite strong growth April 9, 2014 OUR PANEL of monetary policy experts says the Bank of England should hold rates once again this month, with two votes for a hike. More members of our shadow monetary policy committee are now noting the strength in the recovery, and acknowledging that a rate hike will eventually have to come. But inflation has dropped [...]
In Britain, recessions mean more babies. In the US, births fall February 25, 2014 ATTITUDES to having babies can tell us a lot about a country. In the UK, the recession went hand-in-hand with a baby-boom – and yet in the US it was accompanied by a collapse in the birth rate. In both cases, the trend is now going into reverse, mirroring the recoveries in economic fortunes: in [...]
Britain is in debt to a new generation of foreign entrepreneurs | City A.M. March 5, 2014 IMMIGRANTS are good for jobs. Yes, you’ve read that right: even though much of the public believes that migrants depress the labour market, the truth is that foreign entrepreneurs are actually responsible for a great number of British jobs. Without these migrants, there would actually be fewer opportunities for locals and far fewer start-ups – [...]
Lloyds outstrips other big banks in UK’s mortgage lending boom February 27, 2014 LLOYDS is the driving force behind Britain’s mortgage boom, financing the recovery in house buying activity, the big four banks’ 2013 financial reports reveal. In stark contrast to Lloyds’ surging lending data, the other major banks cut lending or held relatively flat. Lloyds’ gross new mortgage lending came in at £36.9bn in 2013, up 40 [...]
Britain is in debt to a new generation of foreign entrepreneurs March 4, 2014 IMMIGRANTS are good for jobs. Yes, you’ve read that right: even though much of the public believes that migrants depress the labour market, the truth is that foreign entrepreneurs are actually responsible for a great number of British jobs. Without these migrants, there would actually be fewer opportunities for locals and far fewer start-ups – [...]
Budget 2014: What to watch out for today March 18, 2014 WHO: GEORGE OSBORNEWHEN: 12.30PM TODAYWHERE: HOUSE OF COMMONS WHAT WE ALREADY KNOWA facelift for the pound coinOsborne will announce plans to give the £1 coin a facelift in his Budget today. This will see a new two-coloured 12-sided coin introduced in 2017 after a consultation. Help to buy extended to 2020The equity loan scheme set up to [...]
The UK is not as dependent on Russian money as you think March 24, 2014 IT IS obvious that Russia is a significant source of jobs, trade and investment for the UK. But it is also important not to exaggerate these links: while they matter a lot for a few industries, they are less important overall than some commentators assume. It is entirely untrue that London would collapse without Russian [...]
Firms lash out at government over migration March 6, 2014 BUSINESS leaders have accused the government of holding British firms back after a Conservative minister called for tighter immigration controls, despite a new report which contradicts his claims. In a speech yesterday immigration minister James Brokenshire said the government is sticking to its target of cutting net migration to the tens of thousands by 2015, [...]
Generation Wealth: Brands are overlooking the most lucrative demographic April 14, 2014 @LiamWardProud COURTING millennials is something of an obsession among media types. With brands chasing the digital trendsetters born between 1980 and 2000, marketing campaigns seem increasingly driven by Twitter hashtags, Facebook follows and all manner of social media buzzwords. This could be a huge mistake. The UK’s population is ageing – quickly. In 2015, over-40s [...]