Highest London house prices dip: Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Richmond fall as bottom end gets boost from first-time buyers July 19, 2015 Some of the capital’s most expensive residential areas saw house prices drop sharply this month, according to data released today, with high demand supporting the lower end of the market. In Kensington and Chelsea, London’s most expensive borough to buy in, prices dropped 7.2 per cent from June to July, according to Rightmove. [...]
Government to fast track plans for UK fracking July 19, 2015 Fracking could begin in the UK sooner than previously expected, following the government’s decision to award onshore oil and gas exploration licences in two stages, fast tracking the applicants whose proposals do not require extensive environmental assessment. The department for energy and climate change (DECC) will grant a number of licences from the fourteenth round [...]
Redundancy payouts decline as pressure to cut costs eases July 19, 2015 Redundancy payments have fallen to their lowest level since the recession, according to new figures published today. Redundancy payouts to workers totalled £3.5bn in the 12 months ending April 2015, down 10 per cent on the year before, commercial law firm EMW said. The number of payments has also dropped 10 per cent from 284,000 [...]
Upbeat Brits keen to splash holiday cash July 19, 2015 Confident Brits are preparing to splash out more while on holiday this year, according to survey figures published yesterday. Of over 2,000 holidaymakers surveyed by Sainsbury’s Travel Money, 33 per cent said they were planning to spend more abroad this summer, compared to 12 per cent who said they would spend less. Travel agents had [...]
Smaller hedge funds do better during periods of financial crisis July 19, 2015 Hedge funds managing smaller pools of cash outpace their larger peers during times of financial crisis, an academic study shows. The report by Cass Business School reveals that small hedge funds left big hedge funds for dust in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. They were also found to have outperformed large funds between [...]
Greek crisis: Government orders banks to re-open Monday as Alexis Tsipras reshuffles cabinet July 18, 2015 The Greek government has ordered the cash-strapped country's banks to re-open on Monday ahead of talks regarding a third bailout deal. It will also mean the Greek people can withdraw a maximum of €420 (£291) a week, in place of the stricter limit of €60 a day currently in place. Greece was forced to close [...]
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis says that Greek reforms are going to fail July 18, 2015 Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said that the economic reforms Greece has signed up to are "going to fail" ahead of talks on a third bailout for the cash-strapped country. He told the BBC that the medicine administered to the Greek economy by its so-called "troika" of creditors – the European Union, the European Central [...]
Here’s what analysts think about Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s interest rate rise comments July 17, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has dropped a few hints interest rates could rise from their record lows sooner than markets are currently expecting – but yesterday he was unusually clear. During a speech in Lincoln he said: "In my view, the decision as to when to start such a process of adjustment will [...]
Guarantor loans are “as damaging” as payday loans, Citizens Advice says July 17, 2015 A charity has warned as Britain's regulators heap pressure onto payday lenders, problems linked with this sector are simply shifting to other parts of the market for credit products. Citizens Advice said "guarantor loans", which allow borrowers to use the name of someone else, usually a friend or family member, as security for a loan. [...]
Good news for landlords: Rents are rising faster than house prices July 17, 2015 All right, so landlords might have been hit by the Chancellor's new rules on mortgage tax relief – but rents might just help to make up for that, after they rocketed 5.6 per cent in the year to June – the fastest rise since 2009. Read more: Landlord it by Summer Budget proposals? Here's what [...]