BP, Shell and BG Group earnings: Investec says oil companies’ profits set to halve amid rout October 26, 2015 Could oil majors' profits halve when they update the market on their third-quarter trading this week? Broker Investec has said it expects low oil prices to push the sector's earnings down 29 per cent quarter-on-quarter, and 57 per cent annually. Amid the gloom, traders will be looking for evidence oil companies' upstream operations – which relate to the extraction and [...]
London house prices: This is who the capital’s prime rental tenants are, what they do, where they live and how much they pay for the privilege October 26, 2015 Ever wondered who those people are that are paying upwards of £8,000 a week to live in one of the capital's swankiest pads? Well, fellow nosy neighbours, wonder no more. In prime central London, a number of tribes have been identified by lettings agent EJ Harris, showing an increase in international tenants across the board [...]
BBA: Mortgage approvals leap as buyers race interest rate hike October 26, 2015 The number of mortgage approvals leaped 24 per cent in the year to September, figures published this morning showed, suggesting buyers are racing to secure mortgages before interest rates are hiked. The figures, by the British Bankers' Association, showed gross mortgage borrowing in September rose to £12.1bn, 17 per cent higher than a year ago. [...]
Got a cold? Sick employees are costing UK businesses £4.2bn each year October 26, 2015 Sick employees who take more than six months off work cost the UK private sector £4.17bn each year, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reveals today. The cost to businesses has risen by a third in two years, from £3.13bn in 2012. That's largely thanks to a rise in statutory sick pay (eight per cent) and rising employee numbers (six per cent), CEBR explained. But around a quarter [...]
What Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal? German business confidence stays strong in October October 26, 2015 Volkswagen bosses may be busily sackcloth-and-ashing, but here's evidence the rest of the business world remains fairly unconcerned about the company's emissions cheating scandal: figures published this morning suggested that while German business confidence has taken a dip in the past month, it's still pretty resilient. The Ifo Business Climate Index, which measures confidence among [...]
UK house prices at their most affordable in 13 years… but not for Londoners October 26, 2015 HOMES in England and Wales are at their most affordable in 13 years, new research from Hamptons International claims, as households benefit from rising incomes and lower cost of goods. The estate agent’s latest Ability to Buy index increased by two per cent year-on-year in the second quarter to bring it to its highest level [...]
Free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute calls for controversial welfare overhaul October 26, 2015 The government should replace all major welfare payments with “negative income tax”, an eyebrow-raising report from free market campaign group the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has suggested. The call to ditch tax credits, jobseeker’s allowance, and the universal credit system for a new system comes as the government has taken fire for changes to tax [...]
Professional and financial recruiting up eight per cent in 2015 as salaries jump too – APSCo October 26, 2015 Good news for job hunters: professional and financial recruiting is up eight per cent this year, with average salaries increasing by 4.6 per cent since 2014. The number of finance and accounting roles has risen 17 per cent from last year, according to data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). This is in [...]
Low oil prices mean Saudi Arabia could run out of money in five years October 25, 2015 Saudi Arabia could run out of cash in the next five years if oil prices stay as low as $50 a barrel. The painful effects of the tumbling oil price are starting to be felt in one of the world’s major oil producers, which is also the leader of Opec, Saudi Arabia, along with Oman and [...]
A lack of lorry drivers threatens Christmas 2015 online deliveries October 25, 2015 Christmas is under threat from a lack of lorry drivers. Shops could be left with empty shelves while online deliveries face delays due to a shortage of tens of thousands of lorry drivers, it has been warned. "We are short of between 45,000 and 50,000 drivers and the situation is getting worse," chief executive of the Road Haulage Association (RHA) [...]