UK numbers up despite challenges March 10, 2015 INSURANCE group Prudential posted pre-tax profit of £2.6bn for 2014, up 71 per cent on last year’s £1.5bn, despite significant changes in the UK market. New business sales were up by 12 per cent, from £4.2bn to £4.7bn, while in the UK sales grew by 18 per cent, from £725m to £857m. The company increased its [...]
Randy Work joins Roman Abramovich and Sir Chris Hohn with multi-million pound divorce settlement March 10, 2015 London cemented its reputation as the divorce capital of the world after a businessman was ordered to pay his ex-wife £72.3m, amounting to half his wealth. Randy Work, a former private equity executive at Lone Star, argued that his £150m fortune should be protected from ex-wife Mandy Gray as he was the “breadwinner” and because [...]
Business group ups UK growth forecasts for the next two years March 10, 2015 The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has upgraded its growth forecast for British GDP for the next two years, based on better-than-expected growth in household consumption and services. It now predicts that GDP growth will be 2.7 per cent this year, and 2.6 per cent next year. The BCC also expects that GDP growth in [...]
Slump in home loans expected to be temporary March 10, 2015 Agents and brokers are expecting a pick up in mortgage lending this year after a sluggish end to 2014. Meanwhile, one of the UK’s most-watched house price indicators has changed hands. Gross mortgage lending was 8.1 per cent lower in the final three months of 2014 than in the three months to September, according to [...]
Euro loses one per cent against the dollar as markets feel the impact of quantitative easing March 10, 2015 The euro has fallen further against the dollar today, after the European Central Bank (ECB) launched its much-anticipated quantitative easing programme. The single currency briefly fell below the $1.07 mark in late afternoon trading, or down more than one per cent, taking it to its lowest level since 2003. It wasn't helped by the [...]
FCA says payday lenders are failing customers after 12 month review March 10, 2015 Many of Britain's payday lenders are failing to treat their customers fairly, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). After a twelve-month review of the sector's regulation that covered 60 per cent of the market, the FCA was left unsatisfied. The regulator said the payday loan industry was still playing host to "unacceptable practices". A [...]
The US dollar has just hit an 11 year high March 10, 2015 The US dollar hit an 11-and-a-half year high after it gained half a per cent on the dollar index, rising past the 98 mark. The measure pits the dollar against a selection of other currencies and it shows the dollar has risen by 34 per cent since September 2003. The latest bump came during the [...]
Venezuela to install 20,000 fingerprint scanners in supermarkets as shortages take their toll March 9, 2015 Venezuela is planning to roll out 20,000 fingerprint scanners across the country in a desperate bid to prevent citizens from hoarding and panic buying. President Nicolas Maduro is an enthusiastic supporter of the programme that was mooted last year and received withering criticism. Venezuela has been running short of basic goods like toilet paper, soap [...]
Mayfair flat just bigger than a bathroom lets within 40 minutes for £1,560 per month March 9, 2015 London's property market appears as hot as ever, after a flat in luxurious Mayfair only a little bigger than a bathroom took just 40 minutes to let. Boasting just 301 sq ft, the one-bedroom flat in Pollen Street has set a new record for speed in London's notorious rental market. Mayfair agent E J Harris [...]
Cheap oil has potential to give UK extra 121,000 jobs in 2016 March 9, 2015 The UK economy could be set for a massive jobs boost next year, provided oil prices remain subdued, financial services firm PwC said today. An oil price of $50 per barrel would create an extra 121,000 jobs in 2016 compared to if prices had stayed at their mid-2014 level of $108, PWC forecasts. It is [...]