UK house prices: Mortgage lending up 26 per cent in October as lending recovery gains momentum – the British Bankers’ Association November 25, 2015 Mortgage borrowing was a giant 26 per cent higher in October than in the same month last year, according to figures released by the British Bankers Association. The amount loaned out reached £12.9bn, with the number of mortgages approved by lenders up 27 per cent on last year. Approvals for house purchase were up 21 per [...]
Seven out of ten London businesses are in favour of National Living Wage, compared to six out of ten overall November 25, 2015 Seven out of ten (71 per cent) businesses in London are in favour of the National Living Wage, according to figures shown exclusively to City A.M. by Group Risk Development (GRiD). By comparison, in a survey released earlier by the GRiD, only 62 per cent of businesses across the UK as a whole were fond [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Play George Osborne’s interactive buzzword bingo game November 25, 2015 George Osborne is preparing for a "knock at the door" fiscal update in the space of just a year (that's number four) , and that means we get to play another round of buzzword bingo. The chancellor is really spoiling us. Be prepared for the "long-term economic plan" – again – but will he make a dig at [...]
EU referendum: UK property and construction sector does not want Brexit, with only 15 per cent saying it would have positive impact November 25, 2015 The UK’s property bigwigs overwhelmingly support staying in the EU, according to figures released exclusively today to City A.M. by professional services firm Smith & Williamson. In a survey of 200 property and construction senior executives, just 15 per cent said that leaving the EU would have a positive impact on the industry. “The industry [...]
Chinese insurers to splurge $73bn on real estate November 25, 2015 Chinese insurers could splash out as much as $73bn (£48.4bn) on the global real estate market by 2019, new research shows, as companies look to protect themselves from volatile equity markets and take advantage of relaxed rules on overseas investment. According to Cushman & Wakefield, top insurance companies in China had just 0.8 per cent of [...]
Energy and oil drive Wall Street higher – New York Report November 24, 2015 Arise in energy stocks due to an increase in oil prices after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border yesterday pulled New York indices up. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.51 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 17,812.19, the S&P 500 gained 2.55 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 2,089.14 and [...]
US GDP expanded faster than initially believed due to smaller decline in inventories November 24, 2015 The US economy grew at faster rate than expected in the three months to September, according to new official figures published today. The US commerce department said the economy grew at an annualised rate – the rate the economy would grow if the pace were maintained for a year – of 2.1 per cent rather [...]
Pound sterling edges down as Bank of England governor Mark Carney errs on the side of caution November 24, 2015 The pound edged down against the euro today after Bank of England governor Mark Carney failed to give any indication that interest rates might climb faster than markets expect. "The question in my mind is when is the appropriate time for interest rates to increase, and that is strongly consistent with the strength of the domestic [...]
Rockhopper merges with Falkland Oil and Gas in a £57m deal to better face “challenging” oil and gas market November 24, 2015 Rockhopper, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration company operating in the Falkland Islands, is to merge with Falklands Oil and Gas in a £57m deal. Shareholders in exploration outfit Falklands Oil and Gas, will receive 0.2993 Rockhopper shares for each of theirs, valuing Falklands Oil and Gas stock at 10.70p a share, an 11 per cent premium to its [...]
CBI Distributive Trades Survey: Mild weather hits retail sales growth in November ahead of shopping bonanza November 24, 2015 Retail sales growth unexpectedly slowed in the year to November, for what's now the second month in a row, however shop owners are bracing for a shopping bonanza ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas period. The balance of CBI's quarterly distributive trades survey unexpectedly dropped to +7, from +19 in October, marking the slowest growth rate in [...]