EU referendum: Big bets for “In” backers as two gamblers put five-figure sums on Remain with one week to go June 16, 2016 Brexiteers Nigel Farage and John Longworth might like to think they're heavy betters after placing modest sums on Britain voting to leave the EU on 23 June, but high-rolling Remainers are putting them to shame. Bookies at Ladbrokes were stunned to see a first-time better stroll into the firm's Marble Arch branch and put £35,000 — in cash — on a vote [...]
From the Personal Savings Allowance and Dividend Allowance to the Help to Buy Isa, how can savers make the most of their Isa this tax year? March 15, 2016 The world of Isas was once a sleepy one. At every Budget, the chancellor would typically increase the amount you could contribute each tax year by some measure of inflation. You had a simple choice between putting that money into a cash or a stocks and shares Isa (or a slightly restrictive combination of the [...]
The billion-dollar Tesla SolarCity merger is (El)on August 1, 2016 Green energy firm SolarCity has accepted a $2.6bn all-stock takeover deal from Elon Musk's Tesla. Both companies' stocks dipped on the news, with SolarCity's closing down 7.4 per cent to $24.72, while Tesla's share closed down two per cent at $230.01. SolarCity's stock also took a five per cent dive this morning after it snuck out a downgrade in its full-year [...]
UK house prices: Bovis Homes share price rises as it posts record profit January 15, 2016 Housebuilder Bovis Homes has ended the week on a high, with the announcement it made a record profit in 2015. Not surprisingly, the news sent shares up. The figures In a statement posted this morning, Bovis said it delivered 3,934 homes in 2015, eight per cent higher than in 2014. Average selling price increased seven per cent to £231,000. Private reservations increased by 10 per [...]
Where’s the hardest place in England and Wales to get on the housing ladder? November 19, 2015 By now we’ve all heard – and heard again – how hard it is to get on the housing ladder. In the capital alone – where a generation has been priced out of the property market – one organisation has already said people should “just move out of London“. But just where in the country is it [...]
House purchase lending jumps to seven-year for October November 12, 2015 Mortgage lending reached its highest level for the month of October in seven years, new data released today shows, as low inflation rates and rising wages helped keep consumer confidence levels high. Overall house purchase lending approvals reached 72,409 in October, up by 5.1 per cent on the previous month and 21.9 per cent ahead [...]
George Osborne’s Big Red Book is securing UK prosperity while Maoism gathers dust November 30, 2015 George Osborne set out last week how this government is fulfilling its manifesto promises: delivering financial security on the back of economic growth, and national security in an uncertain world. Coupled with plans to make markets work better for families and firms – like increasing competition so bills come down – he spoke to the [...]
Yes, Selfridges has just opened its Christmas shop and this is what it looks like August 1, 2016 Is that a little bit of Scrooge spirit we sense spreading across the capital? That would be because Selfridges became the world's first department store to open its Christmas shop. Bah, humbug. The retailer has put 50,000 decorations on display, with plans to expand the store later this year to accommodate another 70,000 decorations. When the [...]
Focus on Notting Hill property: Prices may have fallen, but is it all down to stamp duty reform? May 19, 2016 Notting Hill hasn’t been having the best of weeks, if truth be told. On Tuesday, a report from estate agent Stirling Ackroyd revealed that average house prices had fallen in several prime central London locations. In W11, they’ve gone down by 10 per cent from the first quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of [...]
UK’s rising population will support the housing market, says Moody’s November 2, 2015 The UK and Ireland’s expanding population combined with both countries’ housing supply shortage and “robust” economic growth will support demand and property prices, Moody’s Investors Service has said this morning. Moody's research comes amid warnings from UBS economists last week that London's property market is on the verge of bubble that could pop soon after [...]