2015 was a record year for new car registrations – but VW has lost January 7, 2016 Everyone's a petrolhead now. The year 2015 was a record year for new car registrations, new figures have shown, with 2.63m new vehicles registered during the year – up 6.3 per cent from last year. That was boosted by December – the biggest on record – during which 180,077 new cars were registered, up 8.4 per [...]
Warnings over global instability gather pace as George Soros compares climate to 2008 January 7, 2016 Warnings over global stability gathering are pace, with legendary fund manager George Soros comparing the climate to that of the financial crisis in 2008. Speaking in Sri Lanka, Soros warned China is struggling to move away from export-led growth towards a more sustainable, domestic consumption-led economic model. The billionaire investor said the People's Bank of China's [...]
Halifax house price index: UK house prices rose 9.5 per cent last year. Yawn January 7, 2016 Another day, another confirmation that homes in the UK are increasingly unaffordable. House prices have risen 9.5 per cent in the year to December, according to figures from Halifax, which showed the average house price is now a £208,286. Ouch. Still: the UK's house prices are nothing if not dependable. The figure meant annual price growth stuck between [...]
Marks & Spencer’s share price climbs as chief executive Marc Bolland leaves and Steve Rowe replaces him as trading slumps again January 7, 2016 Marks & Spencer's share price climbed this morning, after revealing chief executive Marc Bolland is leaving the company after yet another period of poor performance. Bolland will be succeeded by Steve Rowe, executive director of general merchandise. He will remain as chief executive and on the board until 2 April, and will remain "available" to Rowe during the handover [...]
Steve Rowe: Everything you need to know about the man replacing Marc Bolland at Marks & Spencer January 7, 2016 Marc Bolland is out. After months (if not years) of shareholders and analysts calling for him to leave Marks & Spencer, the former Morrisons man is hanging up his hat on 2 April. Bolland is handing over to Steve Rowe, an M&S lifer. But Rowe is relatively unknown to the wider world. Here's what you [...]
Bringing diversity into the boardroom: A five-point plan for business success January 7, 2016 This week Forbes published its annual 30 Under 30 list: 600 of the best and brightest across a wide range of industry sectors. Of the many responses to the list, one from Tyece Wilkins revelling in the fact that of those 600, 18 were black women, particularly resonated. Of course, 18 out of 600 is a very, very small number. But it’s [...]
How low can yuan go? Trading on the CSI 300, Shenzhen Composite and Shanghai Composite suspended after People’s Bank of China’s devalues renminbi January 7, 2016 Trading on China's stock markets has been suspended for the second time this week, after China accelerated the depreciation of the renminbi, a move which rippled through regional currencies and domestic stock markets. The so-called circuit-breaker was triggered after just 870 seconds (that's just under 15 minutes) of trading, helping China's stock market clock the shortest trading [...]
Homeward bound HSBC, City Hall race and oil glut make a busy 2016 January 7, 2016 Forecasting events in the City is frequently a fool’s errand but one thing’s clear from the first week of 2016: it is going to be a tough year for much of corporate Britain. Here’s where I think most of the action will be. 1. Among the first big decisions of the year will be delivered when [...]
Nearly 500,000 unbuilt homes with approval caught in backlog – LGA January 7, 2016 Close to 500,000 potential new homes with planning permission are caught up in a giant backlog that is contributing to the country’s housing crisis, according to the Local Government Authority (LGA). A study commissioned by the LGA shows that 475,000 homes with planning permission are waiting to be built in England, a rapid increase on [...]
City Moves for 7 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 7, 2016 Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has announced that John Goldfinch, a London-based member of the firm’s alternative investments practice group, has been elected to the firm’s partnership effective 1 January. John has a broad structured finance, securitisation and transactional derivatives practice covering the full spectrum of products. He joined Milbank [...]