Period features meet contemporary luxury living at Aldford House February 22, 2013 ALDFORD HOUSE £8M KNOWN FOR being the residential location of choice for many of the capital’s most prominent figures, Park Lane is one of the most prestigious residential roads in London (it isn’t the second most expensive street on the London edition of Monopoly for nothing). The road, which was once little more than a [...]
A good broker might be the best solution against gazumping February 22, 2013 Q and A Q I’m BUYING a flat and am worried that someone is going to gazump me. What can I do to stop this happening? A Trouble here is that the law says that any offer put up, and this could come from someone who’s seen the flat before, has to be reported to [...]
Weir in £55m shopping spree as it extends mining footprint February 21, 2013 ENGINEER the Weir Group yesterday said it had snapped up a trio of companies for £55m, as it extends its footprint into mining industries. The FTSE 100 firm has bought the R Wales group of companies in Canada – which makes rubber linings for the processing industries – in a move into the North American [...]
How to make the most of your Isa February 21, 2013 It is much easier to transfer your account than you may think MANY consumers are aware of the benefits that come with an individual savings account (Isa). You won’t pay capital gains tax on your Isa investments, nor will you pay income tax on your Isa savings, and you don’t have to mention Isas on [...]
Three opportunities for investors in 2013 February 21, 2013 THE prospects for the US economy, slower growth in China, and European summits all weighed on the minds of investors in 2012. And this led many to seek shelter in safe havens, like cash. But now “investment austerity” is set to characterise the investing landscape in 2013. The new normal – low yields, greater correlation [...]
Amplats halts production as strikes erupt February 19, 2013 WILDCAT strikes halted production at South African mining giant Anglo American Platinum yesterday, following violence which erupted earlier this week. Employees in the Rustenberg and Pilanesburg areas went on strike, effectively suspending mining operations at all of Amplats’ mines in South Africa yesterday. A spokeswoman for the beleaguered platinum miner confirmed that the employees would [...]
We need a consumer revolution to deliver lower utility prices February 18, 2013 POLITICAL ideas have always been cyclical. When incomes are falling, the economy is flatlining, credit is scarcer, prices are rising and it is hard to find work, the public always turns against capitalism (or the mixed economy corporatism that these days passes for it); in boom times, it tends to be more relaxed about other [...]
Interview: Inmarsat boss Andrew Sukawaty February 13, 2013 Andrew Sukawaty is having a busy day. He awoke to discover his satellite telecoms firm Inmarsat had tanked 13 per cent, leading the FTSE 100 fallers by a country mile. But if the charismatic American – both chief executive and chairman – is flustered, he isn’t showing it. “The share price is for the market [...]
Why you should take economic statistics with a bucket of salt January 25, 2013 TODAY is GDP day, when the Office for National Statistics releases its first, early and ultra-preliminary estimate of the growth of the UK economy. As ever, the media, the markets and the political classes will massively over-react to whatever gross domestic product (GDP) number is released, good or bad. I would urge everybody not to [...]
Top schools fuel house price hike January 24, 2013 AGOOD education can cost parents more than just tuition fees. Trends show that top performing schools drive house prices in their local neighbourhoods by nearly a third more than the national average. Little wonder, then, that developers are constructing luxury schemes in these sought-after areas. Wimbledon Hill Park is going down well with parents keen [...]