Students are more right-wing than the general public on key economic matters like tax rates, nationalisation and redistribution August 20, 2015 Students may have a reputation for being a bunch of radical left-wing activists, but it turns out when it comes to economic issues, they’re actually more right-wing than the general public. From anti-apartheid sit-ins to tuition fee protests, students sure do like to get involved in politics. But don’t be surprised if the next time [...]
UK house prices: The number of new houses being built has actually fallen August 20, 2015 Given we're in the midst of a housing crisis, and the government has made all manner of promises to increase the number of homes being built, this is hardly encouraging: new figures have shown the number of new housing starts actually fell to 33,280 in the second quarter, six per cent lower than the same [...]
UK retail sales rise 0.4 per cent in July as summer sales entice shoppers August 20, 2015 UK retail sales rose 0.4 per cent in July, official data showed today – suggesting summer sales did the trick, enticing consumers to the high street. The figure – which strips out fuel sales – was an impressive turnaround from a 0.3 per cent fall in June. Including petrol, the figure showed a drop of [...]
Greece’s third bailout deal has been signed – here’s what happens next August 20, 2015 This evening, the head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) signed a contract for Greece's third bailout agreement, meaning a further €86bn (£61bn) of financial assistance will be released to the struggling economy over the next three years. Read more: Greek debt crisis: German lawmakers vote yes to bailout deal The board of governors approved the [...]
Ill-designed European Union risks fixed-rate mortgage lending in the UK August 20, 2015 Fixed rate mortgages are massively popular with consumers, 68 per cent of all mortgage products from building societies in the first half of 2015 were fixed rate. With the narrative from the Bank of England hinting that the base rate will start to rise later this year or early 2016, the drive from the public [...]
Commodity chaos hammers the FTSE following Glencore share price slump August 20, 2015 Shares in Glencore tumbled nearly 10 per cent to a record low The FTSE 100 sank to its lowest level since January yesterday after mining behemoth Glencore failed to reassure investors with its response to a global slump in the price of metals. Shares in Glencore tumbled nearly 10 per cent to a [...]
London City Airport expansion plans stay grounded following Mayor Boris Johnson’s U-turn August 20, 2015 The battle for London City Airport is heating up. Less than a month has passed since its owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Oaktree Capital put the site to the east of the capital up for sale with a price tag of around £2bn. But already two heavyweight bidders have emerged, including one of the [...]
Federal Reserve is “approaching” rate hike: Members say they need more evidence of wage growth first August 19, 2015 Minutes from the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting offered no indication that the central bank intends to raise interest rates in September. Read more: Hiking rates in September could be an error of historic proportions by the US Fed With uncertainty remaining over wage growth and inflation, the officials “generally agreed” that more information [...]
FTSE 100 closes at its lowest level in seven months August 19, 2015 Today, the FTSE 100 closed at 6,403 – its lowest value in over seven months. The last time it fell below this was 14 January, when it finished the day at 6,388. Read more: FTSE 100 gives up gains for the year Mining companies suffered the most, with shares in Rio Tinto, Anglo American [...]
Over three quarters of UK households anticipate the Bank of England to increase interest rates in the next 12 months August 19, 2015 Over three quarters of UK households expect the Bank of England (BoE) to raise the interest rate in the next 12 months, according to the Markit Household Finance Index. The August survey indicated UK households are continuing to bring forward expectations regarding the next interest rate rise by the Bank of England. Read more: Super [...]