People’s QE makes strange bedfellows: Jeremy Corbyn is not the first to pitch a quantitative easing for people September 18, 2015 Labour's new hard-left leader Jeremy Corbyn has proposed a range of ideas to transform Britain into an idyllic land of equality, where public sector workers happily whistle while they work and joyous children skip hand-in-hand through rainbows. Some of these brainwaves have become known as “Corbynomics”, among which is a plan – coined The [...]
UK house prices are set to go through the roof, with the fastest growth in London September 18, 2015 House prices are growing at a robust pace this month while mortgage lending has surged as the housing markets heat up. Estate agent Knight Frank’s house price sentiment indicator today scored 59.3 for September, with scores above 50 indicating price growth. The fastest current growth is in London. Households’ overall expectations of [...]
Plans for Old Oak Common homes revealed September 18, 2015 RESIDENTIAL landlord Essential Living has submitted plans to build 500 homes on the site of a former perfume factory, in what will be the first major scheme inside the Old Oak Common regeneration area. The Perfume Factory, which has been named after the Elizabeth Arden factory that used to sit on the North Acton site, [...]
David Cameron v Jeremy Corbyn: Corbynomics is a throwback no one wants September 18, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron dismissed Jeremy Corbyn’s economic policies yesterday, as he sought to reassure global investors that Britain is still “open for business” despite the newly-elected Labour leader’s latest claims that he would sign the UK up to an EU financial transactions tax. Speaking at the Great global investment conference in London yesterday, Cameron [...]
Mind the skills gap: Talent shortage costs UK economy £10bn a year September 18, 2015 The economy is losing billions of pounds a year because firms cannot access the skills they need, one of the country’s top economists has warned. There are currently 170,000 more unfilled job vacancies compared with the average for the 2001-14 period, PwC senior economic adviser Andrew Sentance writes in City A.M. today – a [...]
UK insurance sector shakeup puts spotlight on Association of British Insurers September 18, 2015 Britain's insurance market has undergone massive changes over the past year, and a series of megadeals recently taking place in the sector is just one sign of how companies are scrambling to protect themselves against new policies impacting the industry. Chancellor George Osborne famously shook up the market with his 2014 Budget, when he [...]
Federal Reserve puts US interest rate rise on hold: Global risks trigger Fed chair Janet Yellen’s dovebomb September 18, 2015 The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged last night, sending markets on a roller coaster ride as investors struggled to understand the economic factors behind the dovish decision. Trading was turbulent after the Fed announced its decision to hold rates, with the three major US indices first hitting session highs, and briefly turning negative [...]
Kier Group on the road to higher revenues and profits as orders rise after Mouchel buy-up September 18, 2015 KIER Group’s share price dropped by 4.61 per cent yesterday after the group announced its results for the year. However, the construction firm saw a 14 per cent rise in revenue for the year to 30 June, up to £3.4bn from £2.9bn last year. The group’s pre-tax profit jumped by 17 per cent, from £73.7m [...]
Soaring rents cool off in August but agents warn of imminent rises September 17, 2015 RENTS paused for breath in August after blistering increases earlier this year, but agents warn it could just be the quiet before the storm as lettings season picks up in the autumn. Average rents across England and Wales dipped 0.1 per cent last month, taking annual growth down to 5.5 per cent from July’s record [...]
How the world reacted to the Federal Reserve interest rate decision: Emerging markets soar and US stocks whip about on Fed’s decision not to hike rates September 17, 2015 Emerging markets took off after the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady at a historic low – but the dollar swooped on the news. Blaming a shaky global economy, the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold its fire on a US rate hike, leaving interest rates at the zero to a [...]