Buy-to-let mortgage boom runs out of steam as lending falls in December February 16, 2016 The buy-to-let mortgage boom receded toward the end of last year, new figures show today. The amount of cash loaned to buy-to-let investors dropped by three per cent in December compared with November, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said. It was also down one per cent in the three months from the three months to September. Over [...]
EU referendum: Grassroots Out to apply for designation as official EU “Leave” campaign February 16, 2016 Grassroots Out (GO), a cross-party pro-Brexit campaign, has announced that it will be vying to become the officially designated "Leave" campaign ahead of the EU referendum. The organisation will be competing against Vote Leave and Leave.EU for the official spot, to be decided by the Electoral Commission. The group that is chosen by the Electoral Commission as [...]
London house prices have another year of rapid growth as they climb 9.4 per cent in 2015 February 16, 2016 London house prices climbed 9.4 per cent last year, figure released by the Office for National Statistics this morning show. While it is some way below 2014's growth of 13.3 per cent, it is still rapidly outpacing earnings. The strong growth in London and the South helped drive nation-wide house price growth of 6.7 per cent. Prices [...]
London weather: Met Office issues alert for snow as Londoners prepare for coldest day in winter so far February 16, 2016 Feeling wintery? Brace yourselves – Arctic winds blowing across the country mean that London is about to get colder yet. The Met Office is warning that temperatures will fall to their lowest levels of winter so far this week, reaching as low as minus one degree on Thursday. The weather service this morning issued a yellow alert for [...]
Brazil credit crunch fears grow: Debt is high, bankruptcies are rising, and a bank collapse could be next – while critics have dismissed special measures from Dilma Rousseff’s government February 16, 2016 Two million revellers descended on Rio for Carnival, the biggest party in the world. And now the city has six months to prepare for the next extravaganza, the 2016 Rio Olympics which kick off in August. Brazil could do with a bit of cheer. As looking at the economy, there’s scant reason to celebrate. A decade [...]
EU referendum: Martin Schulz cannot guarantee MEPs will agree to UK deal but says European parliament does not have a veto over proposals February 16, 2016 As Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Brussels to attempt to woo European counterparts at the last minute, the European parliament president said he cannot guarantee that MEPs will back Britain's deal with the EU council. “To be quite clear, no government can go to a parliament and say: here is our proposal, can you guarantee [...]
These three charts will show you exactly when you are at your most productive February 16, 2016 Everyone's a morning person these days. That's according to figures from breakfast brand Moma, anyway, which suggest more than 40 per cent of Britons see themselves as being at their most productive between 9am and 12pm. The figures, seen exclusively by City A.M., show people tend to become more productive as they head towards middle age – so while [...]
James Bond Spectre auction: Aston Martin DB10 under the hammer at Christie’s with £1m price tag February 16, 2016 If you've ever wished you could own James Bond's car, now's your chance. The Aston Martin DB10, Bond's car of choice in Spectre – which was specially created for the movie – will go under the hammer on Thursday, giving you the only opportunity to own one. Just 10 of the cars were created and only three survived [...]
ONS consumer price index: Motor fuel helps send UK inflation up by 0.3 per cent in January February 16, 2016 Petrol prices helped Britain's annual inflation rate inch up to a 12-month high in January, figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3 per cent in the year to January, up from 0.2 per cent in December, and in line with economists' expectations. This means prices rose 7.9 per cent [...]
Finally: UK living standards are now as high as they were before the recession February 16, 2016 Time to pop open that prosecco: We're finally living as well as we were before the financial crisis hit. After nearly a decade, the standard of living across the UK has finally returned to the levels found before the recession, however, that recovery could slow over the coming years. The average household income now stands at £24,300, surpassing its [...]