Brent oil falls below $53 on oversupply concerns March 18, 2015 Oil prices have been on a slippery slope since a brief rally at the start of this year, and it just got even greasier, after industry data out of the US fuelled oversupply concerns. Brent crude, which is the international benchmark, was trading down 0.9 per cent at $53 dollars per barrel today. Western Texas Intermediate, [...]
Budget 2015 interactive: How much does each government department spend? March 18, 2015 The 2015 Budget is upon us, with the government looking to make a big statement ahead of the next election. But where does the money go? Public sector spending is complex web of departments and expenditure. Using this graphic you can explore government spending by department (for the financial year 2013-2014) and see exactly where [...]
Bank of England minutes: Strong pound risks exacerbating deflation March 18, 2015 Bank of England policymakers think the strong pound could exacerbate the current period of low inflation. Minutes released today showed the monetary policy committee believes divergent monetary policy trends, and a strengthening economy, could cause the pound to appreciate further. "This has the potential to prolong the period for which consumer price inflation would remain [...]
House prices near Crossrail stations have risen as much as 82 per cent since it was announced March 18, 2015 House prices within a 10 minute walk of Bond Street station have risen 82 per cent since Crossrail was first announced in 2008, a report published this morning suggested – almost twice the 43 per cent rise experienced in the wider area. Bond Street isn't the only over-performing Crossrail site, though: according to Knight Frank's [...]
“No giveaways, no gimmicks”: Here comes George Osborne’s Budget 2015 March 18, 2015 George Osborne is set to outline a range of measures designed to reinforce his party's austerity message, while enticing as many voters as possible for May's election. The chancellor has promised "no giveaways, no gimmicks' in his final Budget of this parliament. So far, the government has hinted at Easter eggs for pensioners, in the [...]
Made in Shoreditch: The UK’s inflation basket gets a revamp March 17, 2015 The government’s economic statisticians have fallen for the influence of the kind of people who frequent the trendy parts of Shoreditch. Craft beers, e-cigarettes and Spotify have all been added to the basket of goods used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to calculate inflation. “Off-sales of ‘craft’ beer have been introduced as these [...]
Banks’ London office footprint shrinks after heavy job losses March 17, 2015 Banks’ share of office space in London has shrunk by 13 per cent over the past decade as the industry struggles with heavy job losses in the wake of the financial crisis. A study by accountants Deloitte shows that the financial sector remains the biggest occupier in central London despite upheaval in the industry since [...]
Mortgage loan slowdown may be at an end as house prices predicted to rise March 17, 2015 Mortgage lending dropped again in January, industry data showed yesterday, as the market continued to plateau. But economists think this weak spell could be at an end, with lending set to pick up across the rest of 2015. The month saw 22,400 home movers take out mortgages, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), down [...]
UK rents rise in February but fewer tenants fall behind on payments March 17, 2015 The number of rents in arrears decreased in February despite a hike in rents, according to new figures out yesterday, in a sign that households are slightly better off. The monthly lettings index by estate agents Countrywide showed that average rent in the UK for newly let properties rose by 1.7 per cent to £876pcm [...]
BDO: What we expect and hope for in today’s Budget March 17, 2015 Our tax policy over the past decade has largely ignored the UK’s mid-market businesses despite this section of the economy being a significant source of tax revenues and widely regarded as the engine room for future economic growth. This fact needs to be acknowledged, with more targeted reliefs and incentives aimed at stimulating this fundamental [...]