Brits do it better than Latinos: UK ranks as one of the least complex countries to do business in the world February 16, 2016 The UK is smoother, faster and has a better technique than a number of Latin American countries when it comes to…business compliance. While we may not have the tropical climates or world-famous beaches, we sure know how to reduce regulatory and compliance complexity. The UK came 74th out of 95 countries ranked by professional services [...]
Shortage of homes means two thirds of Londoners will be renting by 2025, says PwC February 16, 2016 London is on its way to becoming a city of renters, ending a century-long trend towards homeownership, new research reveals this morning. Over 60 per cent of Londoners will be renting by 2025, up from 54 per cent today, financial services giant PwC said. Only 41 per cent of Londoners had to rent in 2000. [...]
Reported fraud in the UK more than doubled from £720m to £1.5bn last year, with financial services and London particularly badly hit February 15, 2016 The value of fraud in the UK more than doubled in 2015, although the total number of incidences fell, a report out today has discovered. The study by professional services firm BDO revealed that the value of reported fraud last year was £1.5bn, up 110 per cent from £720m the year before and the highest it has [...]
EU referendum: Manufacturers warn Brexit would be “lose-lose” for EU exporters as Capital Economics says Brexit could cause “significant damage” for EU economies February 15, 2016 A top economist warned today that Britain leaving the European Union could wreak "significant" damage on EU economies. In a client note published earlier today, Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics, said that while a so-called Brexit would have only "small" costs or benefits for the UK over the medium term, a British exit [...]
Banking experts hit back at claims from Sir John Vickers that the Bank of England is not forcing lenders to hold enough money in capital buffers February 15, 2016 Banking experts have questioned Sir John Vickers’s claims that the Bank of England is not doing enough to shore up the British banking industry, saying more capital requirements for lenders would hurt the real economy. Vickers, who led the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), told the BBC this morning that the Bank “might want to [...]
Moody’s: How the oil price rout will affect Saudi Arabia’s economy February 15, 2016 Saudi Arabia will be faced with tough choices when it comes to spending cuts if oil prices fail to recover in the medium-term. Oil prices have fallen around 75 per cent from a high of over $100 per barrel in June 2014. This has heaped pressure on the balance sheets of oil producing nations, such [...]
The UAE is offering India free oil in order to store crude there February 15, 2016 With millions of barrels of oil sitting in tanks and oil fields across the world, the UAE is offering India free oil in exchange for storing the commodity there. Local media reports suggest that the United Arab Emirate's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has agreed to store crude in Indian's maiden strategic storage, giving away [...]
Bank of England not out of ammunition, says Ian McCafferty February 15, 2016 The Bank of England could cut interest rates into negative territory or resume its bond-buying programme if the economy were to slow, one of its officials has said. “I certainly don’t believe we are out of ammunition,” rate-setter Ian McCafferty told the Wall Street Journal today. McCafferty voted to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent this [...]
Death of the high street? Don’t be so sure – bricks and mortar shopping still matters February 15, 2016 The ‘death of the high street’ has been a favoured headline for years now, but is yet to actually materialise. Online is certainly growing – on that we can all agree – but we shouldn’t be too hasty in declaring that this is at the expense of everything else. Indeed, new data today from the British Retail [...]
London house prices: South Ruislip the hottest property spot on the Tube map as Crossrail boosts prices in Zones Three and Four February 15, 2016 When you're thinking of the hottest property spots in London, Hillingdon's finest South Ruislip might not be the first location to pass your lips. But the Zone Five station has named London's most in-demand neighbourhood out of the 280 Tube stations on the network, with 75 per cent of available properties selling within the last three [...]