Why the energy politicians are squaring up on ring-fencing February 27, 2014 Energy secretary Ed Davey faced a grilling from MPs in the House of Commons today on competition in the energy market, following regulator Ofgem’s new liquidity and transparency rules, which were published yesterday. Currently, the big six – that have both generation and supply arms – can sell themselves energy, which some smaller suppliers and Labour [...]
What you need to know before the open February 24, 2014 European markets are expected marginally lower this morning, following Asian counterparts, which were left unsatisfied by the G20’s commitment of an extra $2 trillion in output over the next five years. The UK market posted its third successive gain last week, but things in the rest of Europe and the US weren’t as positive, following [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 19 March 2014 March 18, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Labour pledges power to Scotland The Labour party has pledged more powers for Scotland in an attempt to bolster pro-union support six months before September’s referendum on independence. The prospects for devolution have become a battleground between pro-union campaigners and nationalists who argue that only independence would let Scotland decide its economic destiny. [...]
Rises in completions and orders build Taylor Wimpey’s confidence January 15, 2014 TAYLOR Wimpey yesterday became the latest housing firm to report a jump in the number of properties it built in the last year, buoyed by rising prices and the government’s Help to Buy policy. Total home completions increased by seven per cent to 11,696, of which 18 per cent were affordable housing completions. “We saw [...]
House prices rose 8.4pc in 2013 January 3, 2014 The end of 2013 saw UK house prices up 1.4 per cent month-on-month, and increasing 8.4 per cent year-on-year. London continued to lead annual price growth, with an increase of almost 15 per cent in the fourth quarter. And things aren't expected to slow down this year. IHS Global Insight predicts price increases of eight [...]
What will December’s house price rise mean for this year? January 3, 2014 The end of 2013 saw UK house prices up 1.4 per cent month-on-month, and increasing 8.4 per cent year-on-year. And things aren’t expected to slow down this year. IHS Global Insight predicts price increases of eight per cent in 2014, with gains across the whole of Britain. Moreover, says chief European and UK economist Howard [...]
Pets at Home to offer public bite at £1.5bn float February 19, 2014 PETS at Home, the UK’s biggest pet store, yesterday announced plans to offer shares to the animal-loving British public as part of its stock market debut next month. The company, which has 369 stores across the UK, said it intends to raise £275m through the initial share offering and use the proceeds to slash its [...]
Grainger sales double as market speeds up February 6, 2014 THE UK’s largest listed residential landlord Grainger posted a strong start to the year, with sales more than doubling in the first four months thanks to a one-off disposal and the improving housing market. Group sales increased by 131 per cent to £149.3m compared with £64.6m during the same period last year after the group [...]
Crazed global investors have become gluttons for punishment April 10, 2014 CREDITORS are strange beasts: they appear to have virtually zero memory, to be gluttons for punishment and to embrace rewards for failure. There can be no other possible explanation for Greece’s astonishingly successful return to the bond markets yesterday – apart, that is, from the fact that there is clearly far too much cash burning [...]
Why remote working may be dying April 8, 2014 Homeworkers can be just as productive but risk missing out on the corporate culture UNTIL recently, it looked like remote working was the future. Faster home broadband connections, new services like Skype, and nascent document-sharing technologies raised hopes that the daily office commute would soon be a preserve of the minority. The data backed this [...]