Cautious UK companies begin belt-tightening as business investment stutters in the face of oil price crash and fears of Brexit March 31, 2016 British firms may be battening down the hatches and trimming back on business investment in the face of global turmoil and the Brexit referendum, according to statistics released this morning. Official figures showed that the amount invested by firms into new assets like buildings, machines, equipment, and intellectual property, slipped by two per cent in [...]
Party on: Pound bounces as UK GDP growth is revised upwards March 31, 2016 Things aren't as bad as we thought, it turns out – after official figures showed UK GDP rose 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, rather than the 0.5 per cent originally thought. The figures, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning, showed growth in December 2015 compared with the same [...]
Panmure Gordon reports 2015 losses, but stockbroker is positive for 2016 while wary of “the dangers that lie ahead” March 31, 2016 After a "disappointing" year in which its share price more than halved, Panmure Gordon is looking for the positives. Reporting its 2015 results today, the stockbroker said 2016 has started positively and profitably. But it is "under no illusion as to the potency of the dangers that lie ahead". The figures Panmure posted a £16.7m loss in 2015, from a £1.5m [...]
UK house prices: Sales to first-time buyers pause in February despite year-on-year rise March 31, 2016 The number of first-time home buyers rose by seven per cent in the year to February despite a slight drop in activity since the start of the year, new data today shows. First time buyer sales stood at 21,000 last month, which was 6.6 per cent ahead of February 2015’s figure of 19,800, according to Your [...]
Brexit uncertainty could be weighing on consumer optimism March 31, 2016 Consumers have become more concerned over the UK’s economic outlook, according to new survey data released this morning. The confidence index produced by market researchers GFK remained at a score of zero in March. It is equal to February’s score of zero which was the lowest since 2014. Yet the index remains high by historical [...]
Slowing US oil stocks fail to prop up prices March 30, 2016 Oil prices failed to hold on to gains yesterday after rising on the latest data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), showing US crude inventories rose less than expected over the last week. Brent prices initially jumped to $40.54 a barrel in early afternoon trading but by the evening had dropped to $39.27. US benchmark [...]
Uncertainty, sure. Turmoil, probably. But this economist says Brexit might not be a disaster March 30, 2016 Britain will not awaken to a post-apocalyptic nightmare on 24 June if it votes to leave the European Union, a top economist has told City A.M. Dismissing the notion that Brexit would be a "disaster" for the UK economy, Jean-Michel Six, chief economist for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Standard & Poor's (S&P), also said [...]
Prime central London house prices are being outpaced by outer boroughs, says Savills March 30, 2016 Prices of prime London residential properties dipped in the first quarter of the year, as uncertainty around the economic outlook and the EU referendum largely offset any investor or second home buyer rush to beat the buy-to-let stamp duty hike deadline. Values across the whole of prime London slipped by an average of 0.3 per cent in [...]
London is leading a second post-crisis boom in house prices March 30, 2016 House prices across the country continue to surge. Data published by the Land Registry this morning shows the average UK property price was £190,275 in February, a 6.1 per cent climb on the same month last year. London leads London house price growth continued to outpace the rest of England and Wales. The average price [...]
Why some IPOs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be March 30, 2016 Despite a high number of hotly anticipated flotations in recent years, 2016 has been slow going for initial public offerings. Now the dust has settled, it is interesting to examine the wide variations in performance. Compare Just Eat, Auto Trader, Poundland and AO World. All four came to market in the first few months of [...]