Osborne should reject the Vickers report in his Mansion House Speech June 13, 2012 GEORGE Osborne is a flip-flop chancellor – but on all the wrong policies. One area where a u-turn would be welcome is on the implementation of the Vickers report. However, In his Mansion House speech tonight, he will signal an intention to plough on as before – accepting both the good and the bad. Let’s [...]
Boom in prime property sees Savills thrive March 15, 2012 SAVILLS yesterday posted a nine per cent increase in full year profits to £40m after a boom in London prime residential property and strength in China helped to offset a stagnation in commercial activity in Europe. The property agent’s UK residential business grew profits by 11 per cent to £20.4m in 2011, fuelled by a [...]
The City can help us to put a spring in our step March 18, 2012 WITH only a few days to go until the chancellor reveals the Budget for 2012, the nation’s business community will be hoping that this March stays true to the message of spring, bringing reinvigoration and new growth. While the grip of the economic downturn has remained firm, the government has had to focus on slowing [...]
London needs a champion to revive new issue market April 23, 2012 THERE’S been a drama playing out over the past few days in London that in recent times we haven’t seen enough of. A maker of luxury cashmere sweaters worn by Prince William and James Bond met fund managers to gauge interest in a share flotation. The fund management groups in attendance, who included Citadel Group, [...]
Debenhams sales up March 20, 2012 Debenhams, Britain’s second largest department store group, showed its resilience in tough markets with an improving sales performance in its first half. The firm, which trades from 167 stores in the UK, Ireland and Denmark and over 60 franchise stores in 24 international markets, said on Tuesday sales at stores open over a year rose [...]
SuperGroup shakes up team at the top March 20, 2012 SUPERGROUP has added two new executives to its board as the fashion house looks to strengthen its management team and expand its presence overseas. The company behind the Superdry brand said that Susanne Given, formerly John Lewis’ director of fashion and beauty, will take up the newly created role of chief operating officer next month. [...]
Hunt for treasure you enjoy – at least you’ll get emotional returns June 10, 2012 TO MANY, a report on “treasure” might not sound intrinsically financial, conjuring images of pirates, shipwrecks and chests stuffed with gold doubloons. However, owning items that are financially valuable, emotionally pleasing and culturally significant is a timeless tradition that shows no sign of abating. Treasure assets – items such as precious jewellery, fine art, wine, [...]
Getting to grips with the all-new MetaTrader April 9, 2012 THE latest version of the MetaTrader platform has been launched in the UK. MetaTrader 5 offers a raft of new features, designed with the aim of making the professional trading experience available to the retail trader (see below, right). Alpari is one of the first to offer the latest incarnation of the MetaTrader platform. “MT5 [...]
It’s not all doom and gloom: Our mid-sized firms are flourishing April 1, 2012 THIS week, Investec is publishing our analysis of the UK’s 100 fastest-growing privately-owned mid-sized companies. They provide hope that the country continues to develop world-class businesses that, with proprietary technology and an appetite for international markets, will be global players of the future. For those who believe the UK no longer manufactures anything, or is [...]
House prices in slim rise February 6, 2012 House prices rose by 0.6 per cent in January figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed helping to recover some lost ground. House prices fell by 1.8 per cent in the three months to January compared with a year ago, taking the average price of a home to 160,907 pounds. “The continuing very low level of [...]