UK house price lull could be over as lending picks up December 11, 2014 The recent slowdown in house price growth may have already ended, a new set of data shows. House price growth accelerated to 11.3 per cent in November from 11 per cent in October, according to figures released today by LSL property services. The growth rates were lifted by London and the south east. “After a [...]
UK living standard 4th best in EU December 11, 2014 BRITISH living standards are improving, even as they stagnate in neighbours such as France, official EU statistics showed yesterday. The UK is tied in fourth place with Nordic states Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The only countries which enjoy a higher standard are Luxembourg, Germany and Austria. The standard of living is determined by a unit [...]
Lending Club: Famous faces John Mack, Larry Summers and Mary Meeker at the top of US loan share firm December 11, 2014 US loan company Lending Club boasts several well-known names among its board of directors, including John “Mack the Knife” Mack and Larry Summers. Founder and chief executive Renaud Laplanche also serves as chairman. He previously founded enterprise software company TripleHop Technologies, and has won a series of awards for entrepreneurialism, as well as taking [...]
This trailblazer for P2P lenders mustn’t burn out – Bottom Line December 11, 2014 LENDING Club’s chief executive Renaud Laplanche has good reason to be upbeat today. Not only has his personal fortune soared to over $350m on paper, due to his 4.1 per cent share holdings of the world’s largest peer-to-peer (P2P) lender, but yesterday’s hugely successful float of the firm will likely be seen as a trailblazer [...]
Retail reunion at Shore Cap’s Christmas lunch December 11, 2014 The who's who of the retail world trotted over to the Montague on the Gardens Hotel yesterday to share a Christmas toast (and another, and another) with Shore Capital’s retail guru Clive Black. Any airs and graces were brushed aside as each guest arrived at their table to find some sort of festive [...]
Christmas Jumper Day: Have you pulled on your festive woolies? December 11, 2014 The day has finally arrived. It’s probably the only day in the year when the brighter, the sillier, the more glittery jumper imaginable will get you props at work. Flashing lights will get you a gold star. It’s Christmas Jumper Day, of course. Singer (turned housing tax critic) Myleene Klass The festive attire [...]
MW Solicitors law posters: There’s creative and there’s just plain scary December 11, 2014 And the award for scariest corporate graphics 2014 goes to… MW Solicitors. The firm has recently applied to trademark some new graphics, which it’s using on its homepage. The six images are used to identify the various branches of the firm’s services but we can’t help but find them a little bit, erm, freaky. [...]
VTB Capital promotes its finance boss Nick Hutt to chief executive December 11, 2014 INVESTMENT firm VTB Capital yesterday formally appointed Nick Hutt as its chief executive, five months after giving him the role on an interim basis. Hutt has worked at VTB Capital since 2008, when he joined to head up its international finance team. He then became chief finance officer, and was appointed interim chief executive in [...]
US shoppers set for strong holiday season December 11, 2014 US RETAIL sales jumped by 0.7 per cent in November compared to October, data showed yesterday. It marks an improvement on the 0.5 per cent month-on-month increase in October, according to the US Commerce Department. Core sales – which ignores cars, petrol, building materials and food services – climbed 0.6 per cent month-on-month. They were [...]
Brits spend £2,000 on online goods December 11, 2014 PEOPLE in the UK spend an average of £1,968 online on goods from the likes of Amazon, Tesco and Asos every year, far more than people in the US, France or South Korea. Australia followed in second place with an average spend of £1,356 and the US came in third with an average spend of [...]