Greek government balks at central bank’s Grexit warning June 17, 2015 With time running out to avoid a Greek default, a stark warning from Greece’s central bank proved sharply divisive yesterday. On the eve of a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg, the Bank of Greece warned that the country risks a “painful” exit from the euro and even possibly the European Union if Athens [...]
Berkeley says interest rates hike could ease London house price rises June 17, 2015 Housebuilding giant Berkeley Group Holdings said yesterday that the prospect of an interest rate hike may help ease the pressure on London’s rising house prices, which have been fuelled by a lack of available homes in the capital. Data from the Office of National Statistic yesterday showed that wages have risen at their fastest [...]
Oxford Street property deals set to reach £1bn by end of this year June 17, 2015 The revamp of the eastern end of Oxford Street and the imminent arrival of Crossrail has sparked a flurry of property deals this year, with investors flocking to get a slice of London’s busiest shopping street. According to CBRE, seven record-breaking transactions totalling £645m have taken place since January, of which five were undertaken off-market. [...]
Report says Britain’s state debt amounts to £221,000 per family June 17, 2015 Britain needs an Office for Inter-generational Responsibility to keep a lid on its snowballing debt, reducing the burden on younger generations, a think tank has said. The Centre for Policy Studies has (CPS) today claimed in a new report that the current debt position of the UK is not fully appreciated due to the [...]
Think tank slams Bank of England stress tests for being far too weak June 17, 2015 A think tank has called for an end to regulatory stress tests on banks, saying they are “sleep- walking” the sector into another financial crisis. The Adam Smith Institute, a free market think tank, said the annual Bank of England tests – which are used to gauge the resilience of banks to volatile financials scenarios [...]
Suppliers lose out on over half of supermarket promotions June 17, 2015 Suppliers of everyday products to supermarkets are losing money on 60 per cent of promotions, and the situation has been getting worse, according to data gathered over three years by Nielsen. Around $500bn (£317bn) is spent on trade promotions globally each year, with makers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as Unilever often investing 20 [...]
Asia Resource Minerals hit with £4.65m FCA fine June 17, 2015 The financial regulator has slapped a £4.65m fine on Asia Resource Minerals (Arm) for breaching the listing rules. The firm was cited by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for having “inadequate systems and controls to comply with its obligations as a listed company”. This included failing to identify transactions valued at just over £8m. Georgina [...]
House insurance prices forecast to fall further as competition thrives June 17, 2015 The UK’s household insurers could swing to an underwriting loss within two years, despite recording an industry-wide profit of around £500m last year. In a report released today, audit firm Deloitte warns that increasing competition pressures are forcing household insurance prices down. Relatively benign weather conditions over the past two years have also helped keep [...]
Grexit: Greek central bank warns of “uncontrollable crisis” if negotiations fail June 17, 2015 The Bank of Greece has warned its government of an "uncontrollable crisis" if it fails to reach an agreement with creditors by the end of the week. Greece's central bank says such a scenario would kick-off a "painful" course of events that could lead to the country's exit from the European Union, and urged the [...]
Fed fuels interest rate hike on “moderate” growth in US economy June 17, 2015 The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates unchanged at a historic low of 0 to 0.25 per cent, but offered hope of an increase in short-term interest rates with positive statements about the US economy. Read more: Why it’s not time to dump US equities – a Fed interest rate hike won’t drag down stocks The [...]