Rising university applications set to boost student housing rents October 28, 2013 STUDENT housing rents in London are set to rise by three per cent over the next 12 months because of the rising number students enrolling to universities and the lack of available rooms to rent in the capital. Knight Frank said London rents – up 1.73 per cent this academic year compared with last year [...]
UK construction bounces back from doldrums October 21, 2013 AFTER years in the doldrums, the construction sector recorded rising workloads in every part of the UK during the third quarter, according to upbeat figures released today. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) construction market survey shows the most widespread increase in workloads in nearly ten years, since the middle of 2004. Business activity [...]
Industry up as borrowing dips on rosy outlook November 21, 2013 UK MANUFACTURERS are still reporting rapid growth this month, while the government reveals a small decline in borrowing over a recent spurt of economic expansion. According to a survey released by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) yesterday, for the three months to November, total orders and output growth are at the highest level the [...]
Against the Grain: The UK and US recoveries show why France has become such a basket case January 7, 2014 THE COMING year looks like it will be a good one. At the start of each of the past five years, the economic scales have been tilted downwards, and the challenge has been to look for factors which might have tipped them back up. The balance is now reversed, and the onus lies with the [...]
The bank leverage ratio is sensible – but we should be wary of Balkanisation November 27, 2013 MARK Carney and George Osborne, the two most powerful men in the British economy, swapped letters on Tuesday about the tools they needed to create a stable banking sector. They agreed that the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee will consider whether the Bank should be able to set the amount of money UK banks [...]
London house prices set to soar by 35 per cent over the next five years October 24, 2013 HOUSE prices in the capital are set to spiral further upward by more than a third in the next five years, according to new research seen by City A.M. Property services firm CBRE expects the capital’s house prices to soar by an astonishing 34.8 per cent between 2014 and 2018, according to its latest forecast. [...]
Mark Carney: A report card on the governor’s first 100 days in office October 7, 2013 NAPOLEON said that he wanted lucky generals. He would have made Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who will reach 100 days in office this week, Field Marshall. Since July, UK economic data has been exceptionally good. The economy probably expanded 1 per cent in the third quarter, likely the fastest rate in the developed [...]
CNBC Comment: Watch out for the IPO boom froth November 25, 2013 CHEER has returned to London’s initial public offering (IPO) market. By the end of October, over $24bn (£14.8bn) had been raised in European IPOs in 2013, more than double the corresponding amount at the same point in 2012. And almost half of 2013’s total was raised on the London Stock Exchange. But investors may want [...]
Construction sector set for renewed boom October 20, 2013 BRITAIN’S construction output could grow by as much as one-fifth over the next four years, estimates from the Construction Products Association (CPA) indicated today. The group’s economists expect the £111bn per year sector to grow by 19 per cent by 2017, upgrading their forecasts as the UK’s housing market picks up. In 2014 it expects [...]
Focus on… Mayfair: The playground of the international super-rich October 24, 2013 IF YOU grew up in Britain, chances are you’ll know Mayfair is the most expensive property in Monopoly. In the classic game, buying the dark blue street sets you back an astronomical… £400. These days you’ll do well to buy a square centimetre in Mayfair with that kind of money. The area’s grand regency mansions [...]