EU referendum: The pollster party is over – big data drawn from social media like Twitter is where we’ll learn if the UK is voting Brexit or Bremain February 23, 2016 The EU Referendum is looming and at this stage, it’s still anyone’s guess which way it will go. David Cameron’s ‘In’ campaign is running at full steam but Boris Johnson’s surprise announcement to back the ‘Out’ vote may yet derail his plan. Already, there are dozens of polls taking place desperately trying to judge which way [...]
Bank of England’s Minouche Shafik and Martin Weale expect interest rates to go up sooner than financial markets are expecting February 23, 2016 Interest rates are likely to go up sooner and faster than is currently implied by a gauge of financial market expectations, two Bank of England rate setters have said today. Monetary policy committee member Minouche Shafik said rates would increase faster than implied by the market yield curve. The market yield curve currently points to the first rate [...]
Government has poor grasp on fraud levels and the information it holds is incomplete, warns National Audit Office report February 23, 2016 Government lacks the right information to accurately detect and monitor levels of fraud, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The report, which was released today and focuses on fraud at central government expenditure level, warned that, with the exception of details on tax credit and benefit fraud, information collected by the [...]
Fears over German economic growth after sharp drop in business confidence February 23, 2016 German sentiment on the economy has taken a sharp tumble to its lowest value for over a year, data released this morning reveals. The IFO business climate index for German industry and trade dropped to a score of 105.7 in February from January's 107.3. It is the lowest score since December 2013. The index was dragged [...]
First homes revealed at Quebec Quarter as part of 10-year revamp at Canada Water February 23, 2016 Champagne sits in a bucket, ready to be poured into designer flutes and raised to the unusually high ceiling in the show room of a two bedroom apartment. Earlier in the week, this very room had convinced a cash buyer from Paris to part ways with around £800,000 cash for a second home. These are [...]
UK income inequality 2015: Here’s the average household income in the UK – take this test to find out how your wealth compares February 23, 2016 Feeling flush? Median household disposable income rose to £25,700 in the year to the end of 2015, up £1,500 from the year before, according to official figures released today – which also suggested the rich are getting poorer, while the poor are getting richer. Average income is now a hair above the at £25,400 people had just before the [...]
Over-40s are on a mortgage shopping spree – but age restrictions mean they’re struggling to borrow February 23, 2016 The over-40s are going berserk for mortgages – but banks and building societies are having trouble lending to them because of age restrictions, new research has found. The findings, by Nottingham Building Society, suggested two in five mortgage brokers have reported a rise in mortgage customers over the age of 40 – but 17 per cent [...]
Most complained about ads of the year: Moneysupermarket.com’s hotpants and heels-wearing Dave caused more offense than Protein World’s “beach body ready” London Underground posters February 23, 2016 A man strutting down the street in hotpants and heels was more outrageous than revealing that Santa isn't real and telling women to be "bikini body ready". A Moneysupermarket advert which featured the booty-shaking character named Dave and strapline "you're so money supermarket" was the most complained about ad of last year, it's been revealed. It received 1,500 complaints from [...]
New stamp duty land tax extra three per cent charge could hit parents who want to help their children get onto the property ladder, tax experts warn February 23, 2016 If you're currently saving to give your son or daughter a helping hand onto the property ladder, you might find you need to put aside a little bit more than you bargained for to cover tax charges. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) yesterday cautioned that the additional three per cent charge on stamp duty [...]
InterContinental Hotels Group share price climbs on $1.5bn special dividend February 23, 2016 InterContinental Hotels' share price jumped 4.7 per cent this morning as the group revealed plans for a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) special dividend. The figures Group revenues for the year to 31 December dropped three per cent to $1.8bn, slightly lower than the $1.83bn that was expected, but fee revenue was up seven per cent to $1.35bn. Operating [...]