London and UK house prices rise: First-time buyers face stiffest competition as average home in capital hits £615,115 July 16, 2015 London house prices climbed 7.8 per cent over the past 12 months, new figures show, with demand outstripping supply most heavily in the first-time buyer market. The average greater London house price is currently £615,115, according to data published today by Rightmove. Properties at the top end of the market have seen the biggest 12-month [...]
Government on the tourist trail with new regional funding plan July 16, 2015 The Prime Minister will today announce the government’s new five point plan to boost tourism across the UK, with £15m funding available to the north and the south west of England. A group of ministers from several departments, including the Home Office and the department for business, innovation and skills, led by culture secretary John [...]
Londoners more likely to keep savings from spouse: One in ten holds secret stash in bank account report reveals July 16, 2015 Over one in ten Londoners are saving money in bank accounts and deliberately keeping it quiet, a report from Lloyds Bank reveals. Lloyds Bank claims that an average of one in ten UK residents keep at least part of their savings a secret from their partner. London’s rate is slightly above this at 12 per [...]
Interest rate hike decision could come “at turn of the year – Bank of England Governor Mark Carney July 16, 2015 A decision on an interest rate hike – the first since the financial crisis – will be made by policymakers at the end of the year, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said in a speech on Thursday. Read more: Sterling jumps after Carney says interest rate hike "moving closer" The UK's economic recovery has [...]
Got change? Here’s what the Bank of England’s £1m “giant” and £100m “titan” notes look like July 16, 2015 The Bank of England has "giant" and "titan" bank notes, and they're worth £1m and £100m respectively. But you can forget day dreams of a cash machine accidentally dispensing one of these any time soon. While the high denotation bank notes aren't in circulation they're used to back the everyday value of notes issued by [...]
Greek crisis: George Osborne wins guarantee that UK cash used in Greek loan will be paid back July 16, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has managed to secure a guarantee on £700m of British funds that will be loaned to Greece while it continues to negotiate its bailout. Earlier this week Eurozone officials decided that tapping into a €7bn pan-EU fund called the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) would be the most viable option. However, [...]
Greece deal triggers European markets rise to six week high but sterling strengthens against euro July 16, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed 0.63 per cent up at 6,796.45 points on the first day of trading following Greece's securing of a much-needed bailout loan. Read more: Europe offers bailout to Greece as ECB raises bank support European shares climbed to a six-week high, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index up 1.36 per cent to 1,608.12. [...]
Four key takes from the ECB’s July presser July 16, 2015 1. ECB has hiked ELA to Greece: Draghi confirmed that the European Central Bank will increase the amount of liquidity assistance available to Greek banks by €900m in one week. He said that approval of bridge financing, plus the Greek parliament's move to vote in favour of austerity rules outlined by its lenders drove the decision. [...]
Eurogroup of finance ministers confirms it will grant a three-year bailout loan to Greece as European Central Bank hikes bank liquidity assistance July 16, 2015 The Eurogroup of finance ministers today confirmed it will grant Greece a three-year bailout loan – just as European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi confirmed it will increase the amount of liquidty assistance available to banks by €900m in one week. At a press conference today, Draghi said the approval of bridge financing, plus [...]
Europe still has a problem with low inflation July 16, 2015 While consumers may be happy to see prices rising more slowly, central bankers and politicians around Europe are a little more nervous about how they are are behaving across the European Union and Eurozone. The European Union experienced annual inflation of just 0.1 per cent in June and the Eurozone only did marginally better with [...]