Remortgaging activity: Homeowners slow to switch from standard variable rate mortgages to fixed rate mortgages March 12, 2016 Homeowners are failing to lock into low repayment rates by switching from a standard variable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage, research by high street bank Halifax has shown. Although housing transactions in 2014 exceeded the one million mark for a second consecutive year, and fixed rates continue to fall below the standard variable rate, remortgaging activity remains subdued, it [...]
EDF reiterates “confidence” Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant will go-ahead despite funding concerns March 12, 2016 French utility giant EDF has reiterated its confidence that the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset will go ahead, despite mounting concern over whether it can afford its share of the £18bn project. EDF's chairman and chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy was forced to defend Hinkley after the company's finance director Thomas Piquema resigned over fears about the whether EDF's already stretched balance sheet [...]
15 plans for the future of London transport: From the Northern Line extension to Night Tube and Crossrail 3 March 11, 2016 London Mayor Boris Johnson has said £1.3tn of investment is needed in the capital over the next 35 years in order for London to retain its world class status. Transport is the biggest focus of the "London Infrastructure Plan 2050", and £973bn of spending is needed on transport alone to keep up with the rising population [...]
Network Rail considering selling 18 major stations including London Waterloo, Paddington and Birmingham New Street March 11, 2016 The chief executive of Network Rail, Mark Carne, has revealed he is considering selling off 18 major stations including London Waterloo, Birmingham New Street and Paddington in order to cut debt and break up what he described in the interview as a "Kremlin-type model". Carne said there would potentially be a £1.8bn sale of 7,500 other properties, including [...]
From the best US barbecue restaurants to the Senior Bankers’ Regime: What got you reading this week March 11, 2016 1. US barbecue restaurants City A.M. readers are clearly experiencing wanderlust: our US roadtrip sampling 32 of the US' most mouth-watering barbecue restaurants stormed to the top of our rankings this week. Find out where was finger-lickin' good here. 2. Another supermarket sweep Asda and Morrisons' share of of the market fell further this week – while sales at [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices set for third weekly gain as IEA sparks optimism March 11, 2016 Oil prices were heading for their third weekly gain today, after a top energy organisation said the worst could be over for the black stuff. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 1.1 per cent to $40.5 per barrel in late afternoon trading. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, added 1.4 per cent to $38.37. It comes [...]
Using your iPhone at lunch leaves you exhausted in the afternoon March 11, 2016 Addicted to Twitter? Can't wait to check Facebook when you head out for a sandwich break? These might seem like harmless distractions, but scientists have found our lunchtime smartphone habits are putting us in a bad mood when we return to our desks in the afternoon. A new study in the journal Computers in Human [...]
Prime Minister David Cameron’s former Europe adviser, Tom Scholar, appointed as permanent secretary to the Treasury March 11, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has appointed his former adviser on European and global issues as permanent secretary to the Treasury, it said today. In a statement it said Tom Scholar, who was also head of the European and global issues secretariat in the Cabinet Office, had been appointed after an "open competition". George Osborne called [...]
Ex-United Spirits boss Vijay Mallya might well be one of the world’s most indebted men after he travelled out of India with $1.4bn of debt March 11, 2016 Is the UK accidentally harbouring one of the world's most indebted men? Indian drinks boss Vijay Mallya has had to vigorously himself from claims he has become one of the world's most impressive absconders, after it was suggested in the country's Supreme Court that he flew out of India to London on 2 March, leaving some $1.4bn (£980m) in debts. [...]