House prices were up in June despite Brexit worries July 14, 2016 UK house prices grew by 0.6 per cent in the three months to June, despite concerns around the EU referendum – but London house prices fell 1.4 per cent between May and last month. Prices across Britain were up by six per cent in June 2016 compared with June 2015, according to the Reeds Rains monthly house price index, [...]
Tata Steel holds first board meeting since Brexit vote July 8, 2016 Tata Steel will hold its first board meeting since Britain voted to leave the European Union, with board members widely expected to discuss the future of its loss-making UK business. Business secretary Sajid Javid flew to India for talks with the company last night. It comes amid a report that Tata could "pause" the sale of its main [...]
With consumer price index inflation negative but house price rises strong, is CPI failing to capture the cost of living? November 17, 2015 Shaun Richards, an independent economist, says Yes A fundamental problem with the UK official CPI inflation measure is its exclusion of owner-occupied housing costs. Without them, it arrives at an ice-cold annual rate of inflation of -0.1 per cent for October. However, our official statisticians also report house prices rising at an annual rate of [...]
Ladbrokes the real winner from Leicester City’s Premier League triumph August 4, 2016 Euro 2016 and a less-than-predictable Premier League season boosted earnings at bookies Ladbrokes and sent shares climbing 3.8 per cent this morning, as it edges closer towards its £2bn tie-up with Gala Coral. The figures Profits before tax climbed by 61 per cent to £39.8m in the six months to June at Ladbrokes, with operating profits up 34 [...]
At the open: Relief in the City as stock markets stage mini-recovery June 28, 2016 Stock markets recorded their first gain since the UK voted to leave the European Union – jumping in the first few minutes of trading this morning and, crucially, holding on throughout the day. After two days of deep falls and mass trading suspensions, the bluechip FTSE 100 was up 2.5 per cent by lunchtime at 6,131. [...]
Twitter’s share price takes flight on buyout rumours August 3, 2016 Shares in micro-blogging site Twitter have jumped today on rumours former Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer and Saudi investor Prince Al-Waleed Bin-Talal could make a buyout offer for the company. Shares are up by over eight per cent in New York, climbing to $17.72 after falling as low as $15.77 in July. Twitter shares hit an all time low of [...]
London must shake off its complacency over housing and infrastructure if it’s to thrive post-Brexit October 31, 2016 Rarely has a ranking of the world’s greatest cities been released in the past few years without London at its top, or very near it. PwC recently named the capital the world’s best city for opportunity, praising its economic clout, its attractiveness to foreign direct investment, its highly skilled workforce, and its status as a [...]
Going for gold: Transactions for bullion soar ahead of Brexit vote June 21, 2016 The flight to safe havens ahead of the EU referendum has led to a surge in transactions for gold bullion as the 23 June approaches. According to the Royal Mint there has been a 32 per cent jump in the number of transactions compared to last month, as sharp volatility on the stock markets and [...]
The average UK house price is now growing at twice the rate of London property October 14, 2015 What a difference a few months can make. Having once been seen as pulling up average UK house price growth, it seems London is now having the opposite effect, dragging the national average down, according to new figures. The National Housing Market Monitor, by estate agent Haart, found UK house prices grew 10 per cent to [...]
UK house price gap hits a 20-year high September 25, 2015 The gap between house prices in London and other major regional UK cities has grown to its widest level in 20 years. Homebuyers can expect to save on average £300,000 if they ditch the capital and move to Manchester, according to data released this morning by Hometrack. The gap was greatest in Glasgow, [...]