Fall in first quarter US GDP was less than we thought June 24, 2015 The fall in US first quarter GDP was less than we previously thought, after the Bureau of Economic Analysis revised its figure up. GDP contracted 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, less than the 0.7 per cent originally mooted. However, it's a fall from the first estimate of a 0.2 [...]
Piccadilly’s Criterion restaurant enters administration after 60 per cent rental hike by landlord Criterion Capital June 24, 2015 Iconic London restaurant Criterion has gone into administration after 140 years, as a result of sky-high rents. UHY Hacker Young has been appointed administrator, with Peter Kubik and Andrew Andronikou handling the case. The Criterion was put into administration by the directors after its rent jumped 60 per cent from £525,000 to £850,000 [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage approvals rise to their highest in 14 months June 24, 2015 Mortgage approvals continued their inexorable rise last month, figures published this morning showed, suggesting growth in UK house prices is unlikely to abate anytime soon. The figures, from the British Bankers' Association, showed mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 42,530 last month, up from 42,020 in April – and way up on a 20-month [...]
Neil Woodford-backed challenger Atom gets thumbs-up from regulators June 24, 2015 A mobile-based bank backed by City superstar investor Neil Woodford and launched by a founder of Metro Bank has been granted a banking licence, it said this morning. Durham-based Atom, launched by former Metro Bank chairman and First Direct chief executive Mark Mullen, will launch as a mobile app at first, with a desktop version [...]
Bank of England monetary policy committee could split over timing of first interest rate rise June 24, 2015 One of the MPC’s nine members, Dr Martin Weale, has indicated that the Bank of England should be prepared to raise the cost of borrowing as early as August. The comments indicate the monetary policy committee could soon face a split over when to raise interest rates from the historic low of 0.5 per cent they [...]
Toyota headquarters raided by police following executive’s arrest June 24, 2015 Toyota's headquarters in Tokyo have been raided by police, although it is unclear what they were looking for. Read more: Toyota recalling 190,000 cars as more Takata airbags fail A source told Reuters the search was related to last week's arrest of the company's new communications officer Julie Hamp, who allegedly brought a controlled [...]
SuperGroup confirms Wharton as chief financial officer after previous finance head was made bankrupt June 24, 2015 SuperGroup, the parent company of young fashion label SuperDry, has upgraded its interim chief financial officer Nick Wharton to a permanent role. Wharton, who now joins the board had been acting in the role since 25th February, when he joined from Dunelm where he was chief executive. He had been parachuted in after [...]
New FCA and PRA bonus clawback rules: The UK now has the toughest bank pay rules in the world June 23, 2015 New rules to claw back bankers’ bonuses for up to 10 years threaten to undermine London’s appeal to international financiers, consultants warned yesterday, in the latest salvo against big banks from UK regulators. Read more: Bank bonus clawback extended to 10 years by UK regulators The clawback rules comes amid growing tensions between [...]
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras “confident on deal” despite Syriza rumblings June 23, 2015 Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras will meet with European officials in Brussels today as part of the attempt to hammer out an agreement over his country’s debts. Read more: What Yanis Varoufakis can learn from a real game theory master The Greek government yesterday expressed confidence that the country’s parliament would approve a [...]
Productivity puzzle solved? Productivity set to increase by over 10 per cent over the next five years June 23, 2015 Britons’ disposable income will be driven up from an increase in productivity over the next five years, but employment growth will not follow the same upward trend, according to research out today. Economists at Oxford Economics are predicting a dramatic turnaround with significant improvements forecast between 2015 and 2020. Productivity will rise by 10.7 per [...]