Booming firms expect rates to be hiked early May 29, 2014 THE BRITISH economy is continuing to pick up pace, with new figures forecasting even stronger growth this year and pushing forward expectations for the first interest rate hike since the financial crisis. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said this morning that UK economic growth now looks stronger than at any point in the last [...]
Use of Help to Buy scheme picks up pace May 29, 2014 INTEREST in chancellor George Osborne’s controversial Help to Buy scheme is accelerating among buyers, even amid warnings that it is doing nothing to boost the UK’s supply of homes. Up to March, 7,313 applications for the mortgage guarantee part of the scheme had been approved. Demand was much stronger in the later months of the [...]
London will be home to 1m more by 2021 May 29, 2014 THE POPULATION of London will have risen by 13 per cent at the time of the next census, up by over one million to nearly 9.5m, increasing at more than twice the speed of the rest of England. Excluding London, the rest of the English population will grow by only 6.1 per cent between the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 30 May 2014 May 29, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES John Mack steps down from Rosneft John Mack, the former chief executive of Morgan Stanley, is to step down from the board of Russia’s state-controlled oil group Rosneft. His move comes after the US Treasury department last month sanctioned Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s president, in connection with Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Mack dismissed the [...]
GSK on the hunt for suitor to buy drugs portfolio May 29, 2014 THE UK’S biggest drug maker Glaxosmithkline has raised the for sale sign on a number of its best known products, alerting a host of private equity suitors to the opportunity in a bid to secure a buyer. GSK, led by chief executive Sir Andrew Witty, has appointed Lazard to drum up interest in the sale, [...]
Arctic weather causes first dip in GDP since 2011 for US economy May 29, 2014 THE US economy actually contracted during the freezing weather at the start of this year, according to official statistics which revised the country’s GDP figures down. Initial estimates suggested that GDP rose by 0.1 per cent during the first three months of 2014, but the fresh projection yesterday showed that the economy shrank by one [...]
US seeks $10bn fine over BNP Paribas case May 29, 2014 BNP PARIBAS could face a fine of more than $10bn (£6bn) from the US Justice Department as part of its criminal probe into allegations the bank evaded US sanctions over Iran and other countries, according to reports last night. The resolution of the investigation into the French bank is still weeks away. However, if the [...]
Sir Philip makes market return with Mysale IPO May 29, 2014 RETAIL tycoon Sir Philip Green is set to make a return to the stock market for the first time in 22 years after Australian flash sales site Mysale confirmed its intention to float yesterday, with a value of more than £300m. The Topshop owner has bought a 25 per cent stake in Mysale for £47m [...]
Inside Track: For the first time since Lehman, CEOs are ready for deals May 29, 2014 Notwithstanding the fact that the US drugs group Pfizer was forced to walk away from its £69bn bid for Astrazeneca, takeover bids and deals, and even the sniff of them, are back. Yesterday morning, Man Group, the fund management company that has been haunted in recent years by the poor performance of its previously successful [...]
Labour admits cuts are needed May 29, 2014 THE LABOUR party will today admit that government spending needs to be restricted in the coming years. In a speech at the Institute for Chartered Accountants, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie will promise to tackle government spending head on, warning: “A more limited pot of money will have to be spent on [...]