Letters to the Editor – 13/11 – Listing rules, Greenbelt, Best of Twitter November 12, 2013 Listing rules [Re: New listing rules protect investors and safeguard London’s open markets, yesterday] Elements of the new listing rules may help to prevent scandals involving poor corporate governance. But there is a danger that, by singling out companies controlled by majority shareholders for added scrutiny, we drive away future flotations. Many of the world’s [...]
Carney hails recovery as unemployment falls November 13, 2013 INTEREST rates could rise as soon as early 2015 – a year earlier than previously planned – thanks to plunging unemployment and a strong start to the recovery, the Bank of England said yesterday. Just three months ago the Bank thought it would take until 2016 before unemployment falls below seven per cent, its threshold [...]
Bank timidity over interest rate rises risks a destabilising build-up in debt December 8, 2013 THE BANK of England’s revised mandate may push the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to leave interest rates on hold for too long, complicating efforts to bring down inflation and household debt to more prudent levels. Key to the timing of interest rate rises will be unemployment, since the Bank is highly unlikely to hike rates [...]
What you need to know before the open – 23/10 October 23, 2013 US markets continued to climb yesterday after US job numbers missed expectations, sending the S&P500 to new record highs for the third day in a row. Despite the upward revision to the jobs data, markets seem to be interpreting this as a staving off of tapering. European markets seem more restrained this morning, following a [...]
Pension giant lands air traffic control stake November 19, 2013 ONE OF Britain’s biggest pension schemes has bought a stake in the national air traffic controller Nats for £143m. Universities Superannuation Scheme, which handles the pensions of around 300,000 higher education workers, has bought the holding from transport companies Thomas Cook, Tui Travel, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic. USS will own a 49.9 per cent stake [...]
Letters to the Editor – 20/11 – Stamp duty, India rising, Best of Twitter November 19, 2013 Stamp duty [Re: Calls grow for tax cut policies, Monday] The call from the Free Enterprise Group to scrap stamp duty on homes worth less than £500,000 highlights the growing frustration with Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). Previously, it was simply an admin charge; now, it is a revenue-generating tax. This changed emphasis has a [...]
UK confidence grows despite pay pressures October 20, 2013 CONFIDENCE in the British economy is still on the rise despite the ongoing squeeze on pay, according to two surveys of thousands of UK consumers. Both Lloyds’ and Deloitte’s most recent analyses of consumer confidence found the strongest sentiment since their surveys began, in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Both reports demonstrate growing confidence in the [...]
Q & A October 24, 2013 DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS & GORDON Figures in the press give me the impression I’ve missed the buying boat. Have I? The trouble with statistics is they can be interpreted in different ways. The only sure-fire stat is offered by the Land Registry, which values a range of properties and tells us that, while UK average house [...]
Northwest is hotspot for home repossessions while South prospers November 1, 2013 There were 33 per cent more home repossessions in the North than in the South for the year to July, according to research by e.surv chartered surveyors. The group examined court-ordered repossessions per 1,000 households over the 12 months to July and found there were 3.2 repossessions per 1,000 households in the North, compared to [...]
Surveyors see house prices up again in August September 9, 2013 MORE chartered surveyors are reporting a rise in house prices than at any point for nearly seven years, a widely-regarded survey reveals this morning, as the market heats up. According to August’s survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a net balance of 40 per cent of respondents are seeing house prices rise [...]