Let the good times roll: EY Item Club forecasts strong growth for UK financial services February 15, 2016 The financial services industry can expect decent growth over the next few years, a group of forecasters have said today. Mortgage lending, business borrowing and consumer credit are all set to grow at healthy rates over the coming years, as the UK economy shrugs off recent severe stock market declines. However, the EY Item Club said [...]
London house prices: Asking prices hit record high as concerns grow over help to buy eligibilty February 15, 2016 London asking prices reached a new record high in February, property website Rightmove said this morning. Rising prices are making buying a new home difficult for many Londoners even when using the government’s help to buy scheme. Prices in Greater London climbed 5.4 per cent over the course of last month and are 10.5 per cent higher than [...]
CEBR: Stock market rout is not a sign of impending downturn February 15, 2016 This year’s stock market rout is not a sign of impending doom for the world economy, an economics consultancy has said today. Global GDP should grow by 2.6 per cent this year, the same rate as in 2015, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). China is slowing, not collapsing, the CEBR [...]
China ramps up patent activity as Europe and the UK fall behind – IAM February 15, 2016 China has cemented its position as the world’s most prolific patent-filer after lodging 928,000 applications in 2014, stoking fears of Chinese patent-holders launching high profile court cases. Patent applications grew by 12 per cent in China between 2013-14 as state-backed financial incentives and higher spending on research saw firms flocking to seek legal protection for their [...]
Banks are employing staff to listen in on traders’ conversations, after jargon and banter outsmarts surveillance technology February 14, 2016 Banks are now hiring staff to listen in on traders' conversations, after banter was found to flummox sophisticated surveillance technology, according to a new report on market abuse. The report from professional services firm PwC discovered that banks plan to spend £156m on surveillance technology over the next 18 months to make sure that trading [...]
Sir John Vickers warns Bank of England “too big to fail” bank buffers are not enough February 14, 2016 New requirements for banks to hold enough capital to prevent them from going under in the event of another financial crisis have been questioned by Sir John Vickers. In a stark warning Vickers, the author of 2011's Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) report in the wake of the financial crisis and subsequent bailouts, has called the wisdom of the BoE's [...]
Oil price rout gets Opec members cooperating, says Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachiwku February 14, 2016 The world's biggest oil producers are cooperating more after the prolonged rout which has left oil prices languishing around the $30 per barrel mark. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) are closer to cooperating, indicated Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachiwku in an interview with Reuters. "There's increased conversation going on. I think when we met in December … [...]
China’s central bank governor plays down fears over currency regime February 14, 2016 The governor of China’s central bank has downplayed fears over the country's dwindling level of foreign exchange reserves, saying there is no reason for them to fall to dangerously low levels. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, blamed “speculative forces” for attacking the value of the yuan. China's stock market will open tomorrow after closing [...]
Reduce red tape for self-employed, Cambridge Satchel Company entrepreneur Julie Deane tells David Cameron February 14, 2016 The self-employed should have the burden of red tape reduced, one of the UK's top entrepreneurs has said. Julie Deane, founder of the Cambridge Satchel Company, has recommended the regulatory burden on those who are self employed should be addressed among other suggestions in a review of self-employment commissioned by David Cameron. She has also called for [...]
Home ownership is becoming a pipe dream for younger workers, think tank warns February 13, 2016 Owning a home is set to become a pipe dream for young workers on modest incomes, according to new research. Data from the Resolution Foundation found it is becoming increasingly difficult for young people on modest incomes to get onto the housing ladder, with just one in 10 set to be a homeowner by 2025. [...]