ArcelorMittal rides surging steel prices to post earnings 20 per cent up February 10, 2017 ArcelorMittal rode the surging steel and iron ore prices in 2016, to record a 20 per cent rise in profits in full year results. The company's shares rose by more than four per cent in morning trading in Amsterdam. The figures Earnings for 2016 grew to $6.3bn, a fifth more than the $5.2bn recorded in [...]
Property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz is about to get a new superyacht – but not in time for Mipim February 10, 2017 As annual property knees-up Mipim approaches, many of the industry's big dogs are polishing up their gin palaces – but word reaches us Vincent Tchenguiz will just miss out on showing off his brand new, €22m superyacht at the event in March. Property tycoon and Annabel's regular Tchenguiz, best known for his triumphant crusade against the Serious [...]
The government’s assault on buy-to-let landlords is hurting tenants February 10, 2017 The bill for the government’s misguided war on buy-to-let is coming due. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said yesterday that rents are likely to rise by 25 per cent over the next five years, outpacing house price growth, as landlords pare back their portfolios and tenants are left to fight over a diminishing supply [...]
Parliament is likely to be virtually powerless as Brexit remakes Britain February 10, 2017 The government's publication of a Brexit White Paper establishing a high level, if vague, overview of its vision for a post-Brexit Britain provides welcome clarity on its key negotiating objectives. In practice, however, the extent to which the government will be able to deliver upon these goals will rely not only on the outcome of [...]
The UK government’s crackdown on encryption threatens to undermine London’s fintech boom February 10, 2017 Talk of calamity befalling corporate Britain as we negotiate our EU exit is typically overblown. Nevertheless there is a potentially serious conflict in the making between the UK government’s stated desire to maintain access to certain online data for reasons of national security and the continental European determination to institute a modern system of information [...]
Post-Brexit Britain will be a paradise for lobbyists – and it’s not necessarily a bad thing February 10, 2017 Picture the scene: a small conglomerate of agricultural businesses demand a meeting with their local legislator. They tell her their businesses will go bust if she does not vote against a forthcoming trade agreement and they indicate no further donations to her party will be made if she does not speak out more against the deal. [...]
As government plays down its threat to abolish the House of Lords over Article 50, is it time for it to go anyway? February 10, 2017 Chris Snowdon, director of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. There was a time when the House of Lords defended our ancient liberties against mendacious governments. The whole idea of unelected politicians is problematic. In a perfect world, we would have democracy and liberty but, if I may speak candidly, so [...]
UK high street records worst January sales performance for four years February 10, 2017 The embattled UK high street has had its worst January of trading for the last four years, according to new figures, with fashion retailers taking the biggest hit. Like-for-like sales on the high street fell by 0.1 per cent in January, as compared to the same month last year, according to figures from accountancy firm [...]
Prodigal Londoners outspend the rest of the country by hundreds of thousands February 10, 2017 London households can expect to burn through £2.3m over the course of a lifetime, dwarfing the UK’s average expenditure by almost half a million. Investment manager Tilney unveiled the discrepancy in its Cost of Tomorrow Report, which also revealed that the average British household has spent their first million by the age of 50, while [...]
Twitter divebombs despite Trump bump: Shares in the tech giant plummet as losses hit $167m February 10, 2017 Twitter's slowest reported growth since going public wiped over a billion dollars off its value yesterday, with shares in the tech giant diving more than 12 per cent by the close of trading last night. The company’s poor performance does not appear to have been helped by outspoken and controversial US President Donald Trump, who is [...]