Government sells stake in King’s Cross development for £371m to AustralianSuper January 22, 2016 The government has sold it stake in the King's Cross development – currently part-way through a process that will overhaul the 67-acre site – to pension fund AustralianSuper, for £371m. The decision to sell the site was made back in August, when Lazard and Savills were hired to handle the deal. The government's 36.5 per cent stake [...]
UK public borrowing figures for December mean Chancellor George Osborne is unlikely to meet his fiscal target January 22, 2016 Economists have warned UK public sector finances aren't improving quickly enough for the government to meet its deficit-reduction target laid out in the Autumn Statement. Public borrowing, excluding state-controlled banks, fell to £7.47bn in December from £11.7bn a year earlier, figures from Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown. This also beat economists' expectations for a decline to [...]
London house prices: Crossrail has made Hounslow Emoov’s top tip for first-time buyers who don’t want to break the bank – but would like a healthy return January 22, 2016 The UK property seesaw consists of two influential factors, with house prices at one end and the demand for said housing at the other. The changing face of the London property landscape means there is a tussle between boroughs, as the once desirable become unaffordable, and the not so desirable become the new hotspots – Brixton, for example. [...]
UK house prices: Property prices increased by as much as the average salary – but in London it’s more than double that January 22, 2016 The property market might be cooling, but last year still gave home-owners a solid boost to their wealth, with new research suggesting UK properties gained in value by as much as the average salary. Throughout 2015, the average homeowner made £27,264 – or £16 for every working hour of the year. Those who own property in London, [...]
UK rental market: The government must do more to combat rogue landlords January 22, 2016 Today Brandon Lewis MP announced £5m in government funding to combat the scourge of rogue landlords. Councils are in desperate need of additional funding to help them fix the problems associated with rogue landlords and there's no doubt that this public money be put to good use. They will be better able to target notorious ‘beds in sheds’, cramped hellholes rented out [...]
Weird Christmas? Retail sales fell in December – as clothing sales were hit by warm weather January 22, 2016 Either people finished their Christmas shopping early this year, or they had a decidedly miserly Christmas. Official figures have shown retail sales actually fell by one per cent between November and December. But the figures, by the Office for National Statistics, showed sales rose 2.6 per cent compared with the year before, while online sales rose 8.2 per cent. [...]
Christine Lagarde confirms plans to run for a second term as director of the IMF January 22, 2016 IMF director Christine Lagarde has confirmed she will be standing for a second term when her tenure runs out. Lagarde confirmed her plans to run in an interview with French television news channel France 2. Lagarde’s term as head of the IMF is drawing to a close as her five-year tenure is up in July, [...]
The bear is back in his cage: FTSE 100 gains and Japan’s Nikkei 225 roars into positive territory on global stimulus hopes from the European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi January 22, 2016 Finally some good news: the FTSE 100 got off to a flying start this morning, gaining up to 1.8 per cent in early trading as dovish remarks from Mario Draghi sent investors' spirits soaring. Global bourses surged, with Japanese stocks roaring out of bear market territory to make their second-biggest one-day gain in five years. The Nikkei [...]
Davos 2016: An outlook as chilly as the setting January 22, 2016 So much for a fourth industrial revolution. It’s an inexorable law of the World Economic Forum that each year’s summit must be more crowded, expensive and pessimistic than the last. Whether it’s robotics, fintech or climate change, you can take your pick of this year’s buzz-themes – many dreamed up with the aid of handsomely [...]
ECB chief Mario Draghi sends dove to tame bear market by hinting at ramp up of stimulus package January 22, 2016 Mario Draghi went some way to taming bear markets yesterday by hinting that the European Central Bank (ECB) will ramp up its trillion-euro stimulus package as soon as March. The ECB chief said that, with “downside risks” increasing, it will be “necessary to review and possibly reconsider our monetary policy stance at our next meeting”. The dovish [...]