Persimmon bucks summer slowdown with profit jump August 19, 2015 PERSIMMON yesterday became the latest housebuilder to boast an impressive jump in first-half profits as would-be homeowners regained confidence following the outcome of the General Election. The York-based housebuilder said profit before tax rose 31 per cent to £272.8m in the six months to 30 June, compared with £208.9m last year on revenues up 11 [...]
Tata will start a formal sales process by Monday for its UK business after Javid hails “constructive and positive meeting” in Mumbai April 6, 2016 Indian steel giant Tata will kick off the formal sales process of the its UK business on Monday its been announced by business secretary Sajid Javid following emergency talks in India. Javid hailed the meeting as "constructive and positive". He yesterday held meetings with steel unions and the only party that's publicly expressed interest in Tata's Port Talbot steelworks, Liberty [...]
Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne throws weight behind Crossrail 2 and HS3 with more than £300m in transport spending March 15, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne will throw his weight behind Crossrail 2 and the HS3 rail project between Leeds and Manchester when he delivers the 2016 Budget tomorrow. Osborne will use the Budget to commit to more than £300m in new infrastructure spending, including £80m to fund the development of plans for Crossrail 2 and £60m to [...]
UK house prices: The property market is mired in uncertainty – brace for higher prices and polarised demand September 30, 2015 It is time for a big think about UK house prices. Does anybody know which way they will turn? Whether we’re looking at the short term or the long term, a tremendous amount of uncertainty abounds. Looking at the short-term outlook, latest figures from the Halifax show prices rising by 9 per cent year-on-year, [...]
Should the BBA’s warning of a hotting up housing market concern policy-makers? July 26, 2015 Charlie Cadywould, a researcher at Demos, says Yes. Since 2010, housing policy has largely focused on demand-side measures, designed to give particularly first-time buyers a leg-up on the housing market. In reality, these policies may have only served to push up prices further. It is only through increasing supply that the escalating housing crisis plaguing [...]
London house prices: The north-south divide emerging in the capital’s property sector July 27, 2015 One interesting factor in new figures published today (more on that here) is a sign growth in house prices is slowing in parts of London. In fact, it looks like there's a north-south divide emerging – and in this case it's grim down south. The figures, by Haart estate agent, showed while prices across the [...]
Pensions under threat from Brexit July 6, 2016 Savers have faced the biggest shake-up to the pensions system in a generation under the watch of chancellor George Osborne. Many of the changes are controversial, and others have been announced yet not formalised. But Brexit has put a spanner in the works – as negotiations over a deal with Europe under a new Conservative leader [...]
Why are car-makers getting the cold shoulder from investors? Well, why not? May 3, 2016 What is the most unloved sector in the global equity market? First off, you might think of oil, which is beset by huge oversupply imbalances despite the recent bounce inspired in great part by bullish financial speculators. Possibly you might plump for banks, which are seeing their net interest margins scythed by increasingly desperate central bankers [...]
Labour must be a credible government-in-waiting to win over City A.M. readers September 2, 2015 The first speech I gave in the Labour leadership contest was on the economy and business. I acknowledged that, despite many pro-growth policies, too many businesses, their owners and employees looked at the Labour Party in recent years and did not see a party that understood their challenges or was on their side. This [...]
Miliband’s disappointing stamp duty pledge won’t make the tax less stupid April 27, 2015 Housing, and its affordability crisis, is a bigger issue at this election than in any other for decades. Sadly, that hasn’t translated into policies that could effectively solve the problem, and yesterday’s announcements by Labour leader Ed Miliband will not change that. Labour plans to introduce a three-year stamp duty exemption for first time buyers, [...]