No, 2016 has not been the worst year ever December 16, 2016 If you're looking for some Christmas cheer, avoid the latest meme sweeping the internet, for 2016 was apparently the worst year ever. Perhaps the singer James Blunt best encapsulated the gloomy mood on Twitter: “If you thought 2016 was bad – I’m releasing an album in 2017.” Blunt aside, there’s much wrong with this pessimism. Most [...]
The tech revolution – not Brexit – will reshape the face of London December 16, 2016 London's office market will change more in the next five years than in the 15 years since the 2001 dot-com crash, as a combination of factors much bigger than Britain’s exit from the EU come into play across the capital. While there has been so much discussion on the future of London’s banking cluster since [...]
It’d be a Christmas miracle if the chancellor delivered on these three festive reforms December 16, 2016 While Philip Hammond hasn’t been chancellor for long, he has already adopted George Osborne’s style of giveaways – the gifts aren’t simply bought by taxpayers, but are often funded by taxpayer money that hasn’t been raised yet. Of course, this kind of gift-giving rarely places the goods in the hands of the people who need [...]
Britain is still the best place to found a business in Europe – but entrepreneurs are nervous about Brexit December 16, 2016 The extraordinary growth in the number of companies founded in the UK since the financial crisis has been one of the standout economic success stories of the past decade. In a world of increasing competition for “enterprise hub” status, the UK is now one of the top global magnets for entrepreneurs. This is a hard [...]
Don’t believe the unions’ bogus claims against Southern Rail December 16, 2016 Passengers on Southern Rail are this week enduring disruption to their services of a kind not seen anywhere on the railway for a generation. From broadcasters to bishops, everyone has been having their say on the industrial dispute about whether drivers rather than guards should be responsible for closing doors on trains that has been [...]
London renters get some relief as prices fall December 16, 2016 Rents have been growing across the country this year – but in London, the average monthly payment has fallen, with the biggest falls taking place in the centre of the capital. London rents went into negative territory in May this year, and have fallen by 0.31 per cent from January to November. During the same [...]
Only a quarter of us are getting our festive haul on the high street December 16, 2016 Only a quarter of UK shoppers are collecting their haul on the high street this year, preferring to stay at home instead and order goods online. Figures from research company Qualtrics suggest that the proportion of Britons who are willing to physically search for gifts is falling. Last year, 29 per cent of people in the UK [...]
London house prices are growing at slowest rate for over three years December 16, 2016 Annual house price growth fell to 7.6 per cent in November, its lowest level for more than three years. The figures from Hometrack show how tax changes and the Brexit vote have been weighing on London property. In November 2015, house price growth was 11.8 per cent year-on-year. Read more: This is how far house prices will fall [...]
MPs demand Sir Philip Green ends BHS black hole December 16, 2016 A top group of MPs has made fresh demands that Sir Philip Green dig deep to plug the gap in BHS’ pension fund as new figures reveal the magnitude of the shortfall. City A.M. can reveal that Duff & Phelps, the administrators salvaging the wreckage of BHS, are set to contribute a maximum of £45.7m in [...]
Optimism about the UK economy drove business confidence up for November December 16, 2016 Business confidence increased in November, as political turbulence around the Brexit vote has contributed to a volatile climate for companies, according to a new survey. UK businesses saw a two-point increase to 111.1 in November, according to an index compiled by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). A score of above [...]