Reactions to the chancellor’s statement March 19, 2014 THINK TANK’S TAKE Director at the Adam Smith InstituteEamonn Butler The libertarian think tank applauded the freedom granted to pensioners. “At last Britain's private pension savers will be treated like responsible adults. As lifetimes have lengthened and financial uncertainty has abounded, annuity rates have fallen, leaving savers much worse off then they expected. The rule [...]
The Bank has put the brakes on Funding for Lending – Why not on Help to Buy? December 21, 2013 Threats of an overheating housing market have reached Threadneedle Street, and they’re cutting out the mortgage incentives from the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). This morning Bank of England governor Mark Carney said that “risks to financial stability may grow if there are further substantial and rapid increases in house prices”. FLS was launched at [...]
Hall & Woodhouse receives £20m loan from M&G Investments fund January 12, 2014 INDEPENDENT brewer Hall & Woodhouse has received a £20m loan from M&G Investments as part of the fund’s effort to support mid-sized UK firms. Hall & Woodhouse, a regional brewer and owner of over 200 public houses, has over 1,400 employees in the UK and is looking to use the 10-year investment to acquire and [...]
Pictures: The Mayfair mansion that’s yours for just £65,000 a month February 19, 2014 Fancy living in a mansion in Mayfair but don’t want to commit? You could rent Audley House, one of the most expensive properties ever to be released on to the London lettings market at £65,000 per month. The property, a Grade-II listed Georgian mansion in Mayfair comes fully furnished and ready to move into [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 19, 2014 A modest open is expected in the US today, as stock futures fell on investor caution. Another weather victim: housing starts for January came in lower than expected at 880,000 from 1.1m in December (revised up from 999,000). Analysts were expecting a figure of 950,000. And it looks like it extended another icy finger into [...]
Miliband mulls cap on market share of banks January 14, 2014 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband is reportedly planning to introduce a cap on the maximum market share of UK banks if he wins the next general election. The leader of the opposition plans to legislate for a cap on how large a bank can become and will announce his plans on Friday, according to BBC Newsnight. [...]
What you need to know before the open – 17/01 January 17, 2014 European markets are set to move higher today after marginal gains in US equity futures and Asian stocks. We've got UK retail sales for December this morning, which'll reveal more about shopping over Christmas. And in Asia, the Nikkei dropped in trading today, after US corporate earnings damaged investor sentiment. ETX Capital #MorningCall FTSE [...]
Housebuilders Persimmon and Galliford Try see sales surge January 8, 2014 Some more evidence this morning of a housing market that's gathering momentum. UK house builder Persimmon said it had a "strong finish" to 2013, with the volume of new home sales up 16 per cent over the year to 11,528. In a trading update, the firm said it legally completed 6,506 new homes in the [...]
London Report: Inflation data to show economy improving in UK February 16, 2014 INFLATION figures due out tomorrow are expected to show further signs of improvement for the UK’s economic recovery. With the cost of living down, consumer prices inflation (CPI) may now be below two per cent. Jonathan Loynes, of Capital Economics said: “CPI inflation looks set to fall below the two per cent target in January [...]
Fastest rise in UK house prices since July 2010 November 29, 2013 (Nationwide) The Nationwide UK house price index rose by 0.6 per cent in November, taking the annual rate of increase to 6.5 per cent – the biggest seen since July 2010. October's month-on-month increase was 1.0 per cent, whilst year-on-year the index rose 5.8 per cent. November's figures follow the news yesterday that the Bank [...]