Arsenal’s English core: Gunners have three times as many England players as Chelsea, but who is the most represented club in Roy Hodgson’s squad? September 3, 2014 After Arsenal’s deadline day dash to sign Danny Welbeck from Manchester United for £16m, Arsene Wenger’s squad now has a strong domestic core running through it. Just under nine years ago Wenger named the first ever 16 man Premier League squad not to feature an Englishman, yet he could now feasibly pick six English [...]
IFA 2014: Samsung unveils new curved screen Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note 4, Gear S smartwatch and virtual reality headset Gear VR September 3, 2014 Samsung has unveiled four new devices, including two Galaxy Notes, a smartwatch and a virtual reality headset. The Korean manufacturer has pipped rival Apple to the post with a big launch event at tech conference IFA in Berlin today. Two new “phablet” devices- larger than a smartphone, but not quite a tablet- in the Galaxy [...]
Super skinny North London house goes on to auction with a £235,000 price tag September 3, 2014 It may seem like a home for the super-svelte, but you'll need a fat wallet if you want to buy this seven-foot wide home near Turnpike Lane station in North London – it's being put up for auction with a guide price of £235,000. Here's the skinny: the two-storey, two-bedroom home on St Anns Road [...]
Kremlin quashes “permanent” ceasefire claim as blasts heard in Ukraine September 3, 2014 In this morning's newsletter we noted our scepticism at the use of the word “permanent” when it came to the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Sadly, within two hours of the announcement from Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, it turns out that phrase has indeed met with some stumbling blocks. Although Poroshenko's Tweet has not [...]
Scottish independence: That WEF report could boost Salmond’s plans to keep the pound September 3, 2014 Most of the UK media attention given to the new World Economic Forum (WEF) rankings has been focused on Britain edging up one place to take spot number nine for global competitiveness. However, there may be more to glean from the WEF's report than the UK's marginal improvement in competitiveness. Specifically, the WEF's rankings on [...]
Killik investment chief Paul Kavanagh announces departure September 3, 2014 City stockbroker and wealth manager Killik announced a major departure this morning as partner Paul Kavanagh is set to leave at the end of this year with two colleagues to set up his own company. Kavanagh, chief investment officer at Killik and chairman of Killik & Co's capital division, will leave the company on [...]
Eurozone PMI in graphs: Spain and Ireland report strong services growth, while France and Italy lag behind September 3, 2014 More economic problems for France and Italy. Both countries slipped in to contractionary territory in the Markit PMI stakes, recording composite (manufacturing and services) scores below the 50 point that indicates growth. The Eurozone overall posted at 52.5, revised down from 52.8. BNP Paribas has suggested that the downward revision points to mid-month events affecting [...]
Sex, drugs and charity – the changes to how UK GDP is measured revealed September 3, 2014 Vice sectors such as the sex and drugs trades – alongside those firmly rooted in virtue – have given the UK's economy something of a halo, according to the Office for National Statistics' reworking of GDP data. The once-in-a-generation changes are being drip fed out, with the first – revised real and nominal GDP [...]
Scottish independence: Lloyds’ contingency plans could see move to London if Scots vote yes September 3, 2014 Lloyds’contingency plans if Scots vote for independence could include moving its official offices from Edinburgh to London in order to avoid being classed as a Scottish bank. LATEST: Lloyds confirms move from Scotland to London and RBS to follow The banking group, which owns Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has formed contingency plans [...]
Growth in UK services is accelerating – so what does this mean for interest rates? September 3, 2014 Could this be the news the hawks have been waiting for? Markit/CIPS PMI data out today shows an acceleration in growth in the services industry which, when combined with the two previous surveys, suggests August saw the fastest economic growth since last November. Adjusting for seasonal factors, the Business Activity Index stood at [...]