This chart shows what’s changed since since the Bank of England began its quantitative easing programme in 2009 March 4, 2017 Tomorrow is the eighth anniversary of the Bank of England (BoE)'s quantitative easing (QE) programme and of interest rates being cut to the "emergency" level of 0.5 per cent. It also happens to be the deadline for written submission to the treasury select committee's enquiry into the effectiveness and impact of the post-2008 monetary policy. Laith Khalaf, senior [...]
Now Trump has accused Obama of tapping phones at Trump Tower without giving evidence March 4, 2017 Donald Trump has gone on another Twitter tirade. Today, the US President is accusing former President Barack Obama of wire tapping his phones in Trump Tower during the later stages of the US election, but he gave no evidence to support the allegation. Trump tweeted: "This is McCarthyism!" and said he "just found out" Obama tapped his [...]
Sinn Fein celebrates an “amazing day” as it closes the gap on the DUP March 4, 2017 The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) held its title as Northern Ireland's biggest party after assembly election results were revealed last night, but Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein closed the gap after seeing its highest voter turnout since 1998. Just over 1,000 votes split the main parties in the closest ever assembly election – and voter turnout was at its highest [...]
Raise a glass: Britain’s beer exports rose in 2016, making it the third most valuable food or drink export March 4, 2017 British beer exports rose six per cent in 2016 according to new figures published by the HMRC, making beer the UK's third most valuable food and drink export. Chinese interest in British beer skyrocketed last year, rising 500 per cent following pictures of Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoying a pint with former Prime Minister David Cameron in [...]
Uber used a secret technology called Greyball to hide from regulators and avoid being shut down March 4, 2017 The blows just keep coming for Uber. It's now been revealed that for years the ride-hailing app has deceived regulators in areas where its services were resisted or banned by authorities by using a secret technology. Greyball, a programme that uses data from the Uber app and other technologies, was created to protect the firm from "violations [...]
Boris Johnson is traveling to Russia for “high-level” talks March 4, 2017 Foreign secretary Boris Johnson will travel to Moscow for "high-level" talks in the coming weeks, making him the first minister to travel to Russia for a state visit in more than five years. The talks will focus on UK-Russia relations and international issues like Syria and Ukraine where the two countries "continue to have significant differences", said a [...]
The UK could leave the EU without paying the Brexit bill if no deal is agreed, peers say March 4, 2017 Britain will not have to pay anything to the European Union if it exits without agreeing a deal, a committee of peers has said. However, it warns of "profound" consequences if the UK leaves the EU without responding to EU budget claims. EU officials' estimations show the UK owes around €60bn (£52bn) as its share of the budget commitments. [...]
Peugeot maker PSA has reached a deal to buy Opel and Vauxhall March 4, 2017 French carmaker PSA has closed on a deal with General Motors (GM) to buy the firm's loss-making Opel division, which includes Britain's Vauxhall, according to reports. The two groups announced today they will hold a press conference Monday morning – but they didn't specify a subject. Sources told Reuters PSA's board approved the deal yesterday and will publicly announce it [...]
Property of the week: Ovington Square proves that vendors are looking for flexible solutions to sell their homes in an uncertain market March 3, 2017 It’s no secret that property prices in prime central London are starting to plateau and, in some cases, fall. We’re all aware of the problems – overzealous estate agents, Stamp Duty increases, Brexit – but how can you make the best of it if you’re selling your house? Prime estate agency Russell Simpson thinks it’s [...]
Focus On Queen’s Park: Good schools, shops and value lure families to north west London March 3, 2017 Garden towns and villages have made a surprising comeback of late, largely as a by-product of our desperate search for a solution to the housing crisis. The government announced at the start of the year that it intended to build three new towns of 10,000 houses each, in a bid to reach a target of [...]