Mortgage lending has another healthy month in November December 11, 2015 Mortgage lending climbed last month, according to new figures published this morning. There were 70,511 house purchase approvals in November, the data from surveyors e.surv show. Compared with the same month last year, the number of approvals is up 19 per cent. If accurate, the figure also surpasses August’s year-high of 70,748 approvals. E.surv's figures [...]
ICAEW: Low business investment will weigh on economic growth next year December 11, 2015 Economic growth will slow next year as business investment stutters, exports weaken further and skills shortages bite, according to the latest forecast from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The group slashed its forecasts today for 2016 UK economic growth to 2.1 per cent from 2.6 per cent. One of the main [...]
Financial services firms could be doing more to safeguard against risks flowing from handling confidential information, says FCA review December 10, 2015 Financial services firms have further work to do to safeguard against the risks of handling confidential and inside information, according to a thematic review published today by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Despite organisations being able to identify key risks that stem from working with sensitive information, the FCA concluded that not enough was being done [...]
London house prices: As the average property price soars to £600,000, Osborne’s measures to tackle the UK’s housing problem could risk making the problem worse December 10, 2015 For those hoping to get on the housing ladder, it's clear that not enough is being done to address the issue of ever-unattainable prices. While there is some evidence to suggest growth in London at least is slowing, figures out today show that the average price of a property in London has reached £600,000. Last week [...]
Global law firm Pinsent Masons warns that proposed tax avoidance rules for large businesses could make HMRC “judge, jury and executioner” December 10, 2015 A global law firm has today criticised HM Revenue & Customs’s (HMRC) recently announced plans for cracking down on tax avoidance by businesses, saying that parts of the proposals would make HMRC the “judge, jury and executioner.” Further details on legislation that would allow the UK tax authority to place large businesses under special measures if [...]
Peer-to-peer lender MarketInvoice is lending £14,700 a minute as small businesses turn to alternative sources of finance December 10, 2015 More small business are turning to non-traditional forms of finance as they shun expensive overdrafts and bank loans. One peer-to-peer lender, MarketInvoice, which collects cash from individuals and lends it to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) against invoices, had its busiest ever morning today. Between 9am and 12 noon it lent £2.65m to SMEs, around £14,700 per minute, [...]
The UK economy could gain almost 4,000 new jobs and £1.75bn worth of development if business rates were cut December 10, 2015 Cutting business rates could unlock around £1.75bn worth of development over the next five years, which is more than the development value of the Shard, Walkie Talkie and Cheesegrater combined. According to a report published today by the British Property Federation (BPF), British Council of Shopping Centers and British Council for Offices, reassessing how rates are applied would [...]
Bank of England votes eight to one to hold interest rates as oil prices are expected to weigh further on inflation in the coming months December 10, 2015 The Bank of England will be in no mood to lift interest rates any time soon as it said today there was a high chance that inflation will remain near zero in the coming months due to a renewed fall in oil prices. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) also warned about uncertainty over the market [...]
UK trade deficit widens in October as imports jump December 10, 2015 The UK's trade deficit, the amount of goods and services imported over the amount that is exported, widened in October. The figures published by the Office for National Statistics this morning show the deficit widening to £4.1bn from £3.1bn in September. An increase in goods imports, which economists warn are volatile on a month basis, [...]
How normal are your spending habits? UK household expenditure reveals what Britons spend most money on December 10, 2015 Do you spend more or less money on wine than the average Briton? How about takeaway coffees? You probably already know that that daily vanilla latte you buy to get you through the morning commute tallies up to astronomical sums over the course of the year. But if you’re worried, or perhaps just curious, about [...]