UK house prices: Brexit clouds lift, but coronavirus threat looms March 6, 2020 UK house prices rose 2.8 per cent in February compared to the same month last year, Halifax data showed today. Homes’ values increased 0.3 per cent month on month and 2.9 per cent on a quarterly basis, Halifax’s House Price Index found. That left the average UK house price at £240,677 in February. But while [...]
UK house prices fall for first time since 2012 amid coronavirus July 1, 2020 UK house prices posted an annual fall for the first time since 2012 in June amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Nationwide’s index today. Growth turned negative last month with prices slipping 0.1 per cent year on year, following a 1.8 per cent climb in May, Nationwide said. Its data showed UK house prices also [...]
Budget reactions: Optimism and relief to Sunak’s plans March 4, 2021 Following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement yesterday, of a raft of new support measures alongside plans to shore up Britain’s finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the details of this year’s Budget gradually become clear to SMEs, entrepreneurs, startups and others in London and across the country. Sunak set out extensions to the furlough [...]
Bubble trouble: Lessons from three centuries of boom and bust August 6, 2020 While 2020 has seen its fair share of market turbulence, it has some way to go to match the volatility of 1720. This month marks the 300th anniversary of the peak of the South Sea Bubble — one of the first financial bubbles, and still one of history’s greatest. The bubble began when the South [...]
US oil prices rebound into positive territory after historic crash April 21, 2020 US crude oil has bounced back into positive territory after plunging into negative territory for the first time, as the coronavirus outbreak crushes demand. The US oil benchmark – West Texas Intermediate (WTI) – was at $1.43 a barrel in afternoon trading in Asia after starting the session at minus $14. It means producers were [...]
Why caution on Hong Kong is paying dividends October 24, 2019 Prudent investors will have been cautious on Hong Kong for some time, says Henderson Far East Income Fund Manager Mike Kerley; with Asia’s income growth coming from elsewhere. For anyone with an interest in the Asian growth story, the scenes in Hong Kong are very worrying. While no one could have foreseen the scale and [...]
Covid-19 creates a perfect storm for debt crises March 24, 2020 The coronavirus epidemic means that the global economy will experience a severe shock this year. In addition to the human and social impact of the epidemic, output is stalling around the world. Quarantine measures, illness, and negative consumer and business sentiment suppress demand. At the same time, the closure of some factories and disruption to [...]
Persimmon share price dips in wake of Help to Buy contract fears February 25, 2019 Persimmon was among the biggest FTSE 100 market fallers this evening as fears that the property giant could lose its Help to Buy contract weighed on investor confidence. The developer will be hoping to claw back positive sentiment in the City tomorrow in its full-year profit results, after shares closed down nearly five per cent [...]
Ed Warner: If Liverpool’s owners want to sell, expect more American buyers November 17, 2022 Ed Warner addresses why American investors are the most likely purchases of any Liverpool shares on the market, why England’s Rugby World Cup defeat was good for the women’s game, and cricket song choices with a sense of humour. Forty-three days without the Premier League. Three days in and already I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms. Yes, [...]
The Hollywood of Europe: How the Canary Islands are being reinvented as a film hub October 31, 2020 In the opening scenes of action-thriller Jason Bourne, the film’s forgetful hero, played by Matt Damon, strides through violent protests on the streets of Athens. He meets his spy partner in the iconic Syntagma Square, before being chased through a sea of blue and white flags by a menacing CIA hit squad. But for eagle-eyed [...]