Humiliation for UK as Europe overrules finance veto January 22, 2014 THE CITY is braced for a beating from Europe, after Britain lost a key legal case that could set a precedent for Brussels to overrule the UK in financial services. In a shock decision the European Court of Justice (ECJ) went against its own legal adviser to give the European Securities and Markets Authority the power [...]
Fancy a brew? Annabel Palmer talks craft beer with Draft House’s Charlie McVeigh March 10, 2014 Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh talks about the perils of the hospitality industry, and how he’s taking advantage of Britain’s real ale renaissance A CRAFT beer revolution has taken hold in Britain. Consumption of independently-brewed beer rose by 22.3m pints to 415m pints in 2012, according to the Society of Independent Brewers. And figures suggest [...]
Seven threats that could derail London’s position as a top city March 24, 2014 LONDON is at the top of its game. It is not only the commercial, financial, cultural and political capital of the UK but a great city-state, a global metropolis which attracts the world’s best and brightest. But here are seven risks to London’s supremacy; all must be tackled or avoided if we are to prevent [...]
Ahead of the curve April 27, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks data with Tash Whitmey, UK chief executive at Havas EHS CREATIVE agency Havas EHS aims to be a market leader in delivering ideas, powered by data, for a digital world. At its helm sits Tash Whitmey, long-time champion of data’s potential. She tells City A.M. how she is driving relevant targeted communication. [...]
Brand Index: Hot housing market masks finance fear for many Brits March 4, 2014 THE LATEST figures from the YouGov/Cebr consumer confidence index show that the economic recovery is finally starting to move from a headline to a concrete reality for greater numbers of ordinary people. Champagne bottles are by no means being uncorked in large numbers, but there has been a steady increase in the percentage of people [...]
It’s time we ended the pretence that planning rules come without a price September 6, 2013 MOST agree that the UK housing market has long been stuck in an affordability crisis. Despite a fall in prices since 2007, Nationwide recently calculated that the typical house now costs 5.1 times average earnings, up from 3.9 a quarter of a century ago. In London, the ratio has risen from 5.7 to 7.7. And [...]
Home purchase lending back to pre-crisis levels February 25, 2014 BRITISH banks last month approved the highest monthly level of mortgage lending since September 2007, before the devastating effect of the financial crisis. Mortgages for house purchases have soared by 57 per cent since the same month last year, and remortgaging has also grown by 51 per cent in the same period. The British Bankers’ [...]
Rising prices see Brits working three more days a year February 10, 2014 On average people are having to work three more days a year to pay for essential items such as gas, water and electricity compared to 2010, according to research carried out exclusively for ITV News. In 2013, the rising cost of utilities meant the average UK employee had to work for 20.1 days (based on [...]
Letters to the Editor – 09/01 – Buy British, Land sale, Best of Twitter January 8, 2014 Buy British [Re: Is the environment secretary right that UK consumers should buy more British food?, yesterday] So John Allan supports the UK sticking to domestically-produced food and also expects other countries to open up to UK producers? He really hasn’t thought that through at all. The government manipulates our spending and consumption with taxation [...]
City A.M.’s bumper Budget preview March 17, 2014 As chancellor George Osborne gets ready to unveil the penultimate budget before the general election, we've pulled together all the expected announcements, and what others are hoping for. Deficit Due to the scale of the budget deficit Ernst & Young believe the chancellor has little room for manoeuvre in terms of giveaways. While the Office [...]