House prices rise again, with the value of London residential properties shooting up by 14 per cent year-on-year, while sales inch down two per cent February 26, 2016 The price of residential property has edged up with the capital seeing the biggest increases in value over the last year, figures released today show. According to the Land Registry's monthly market trend data for January 2016, the average price of residential property in England and Wales rose by 7.1 per cent over a year and [...]
EU referendum: Brexit could cause turmoil for more than half of small businesses in London who are relying on a workforce that comes from across the EU February 26, 2016 A Brexit could be bad news for more than half of small businesses in London who are counting on migrant workers to keep them up and running, according to a specialist accounting firm. "We do the accounting for several hundred small businesses in London, with more than half of them relying on a workforce that includes [...]
London workers did nearly £9,000 of unpaid overtime last year – as the UK racks up £31.5bn of unpaid work February 26, 2016 We're all used to putting in those extra few hours a week – but how much would you make if you were actually paid for it? New research has calculated that the average London worker could have made an extra £8,669 last year… The research by the Trades Union Congress, found 5.1m UK workers collectively [...]
Oil price rises despite a hike in US stockpiles February 25, 2016 Oil bounced back late last night after losing ground earlier in the day. The rise was due to Venezuela reaffirming a mid-March meeting of oil producers that would include Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar. Saudi has been working to broker a deal with both Opec and non-Opec countries to stabilise prices that have slumped 70 per [...]
Sterling keeps clear of hitting 30-year low February 25, 2016 Sterling held its ground today, managing to steer clear of a 30-year low against the dollar. The pound spiked at $1.3996, a climb of around half a per cent on its value at the start of the day. However, if later fell back to $1.3920. The pound has fallen sharply this week after London Mayor [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices fall further as oversupply concerns grow February 25, 2016 Oil prices fell further today after new data stoked concern that the supply glut is continuing to build against a backdrop of slowing global growth. Brent crude, the global benchmark, added to earlier losses shedding 1.69 per cent to $33.83 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, fell 2.27 per cent to $31.42. U.S. government data showed [...]
Eurozone money supply and lending pick up in January February 25, 2016 Lending and money supply growth in the Eurozone picked up in January, according to figures published by the European Central Bank this morning. Borrowing by households climbed 1.4 per cent compared with the same month last year, the same rate as in December. However, lending to non-financial corporations bounced back to 0.6 per cent growth from 0.1 [...]
As regulation and legal red tape increases, are professionals in the city and financial services becoming the scapegoats? February 25, 2016 Since the 2008 financial crisis, banks and other City organisations have faced a more intense glare from the spotlight of regulators. Record penalties have been handed out, such as the $5.6bn in fines imposed on some of the most well-known global banks in relation to foreign exchange manipulation early last year. Some banks have reacted to this increased [...]
S&P: Russian economy is heading for a second year of recession in 2016 February 25, 2016 Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned that the Russian economy is on course for a second year of recession, as commodity prices continue to career lower. S&P predicts that the Russian economy will shrink by 1.3 per cent in 2016, as opposed to the 0.3 per cent growth it had previously forecast. It also [...]
House building is accelerating but one estate agent says it is unlikely to help young buyers February 25, 2016 House building in England picked up toward the end of last year, but remains substantially below pre-recession levels. Builders started work on 37,080 new properties in the three months to December, the Department for Communities and Local Government said this morning. It marks a six per cent increase on the previous six month period but [...]