FTSE 100 Live: City stocks rally after tech sell-off; Iran threatens ‘forceful response’ over Strait of Hormuz
Syed Kamall on Brussels, Brexit and Boris’ job – is he ready to be London’s next mayor? June 14, 2015 More than 300 Tory voters packed a lecture hall at BPP University in Waterloo last Thursday night to hear London MEP Syed Kamall speak about Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Kamall – a Conservative MEP who has represented the capital in Brussels since 2005 and led the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, the multi-country [...]
Labour has unveiled its London mayor shortlist: Tessa Jowell, Sadiq Khan, David Lammy, Diane Abbott, Gareth Thomas, Christian Wolmar June 13, 2015 The Labour party has revealed that six City Hall hopefuls will be fighting to become its candidate in next year's London mayoral elections. Frontrunners include MPs Dame Tessa Jowell and Sadiq Khan. MPs David Lammy, Diane Abbott, Gareth Thomas are also on the list, as well as journalist Christian Wolmar. The candidates would've had to receive a minimum [...]
UK outlook slashed to negative by Standard & Poor’s over EU referendum risk June 12, 2015 Standard and Poor's has revised the UK's credit rating from "stable" to "negative" due to the government's promises of an EU referendum in 2017. S&P said the decision to hold an EU referendum represents a risk to the UK's economic growth – particularly to its financial services and exports sectors – and "raises questions" about [...]
Rangers EGM: Mike Ashley fails to show as Dave King argues against £5m loan repayment June 12, 2015 Rangers shareholders have voted on whether the club should repay a £5m loan to Mike Ashley at an extraordinary general meeting called by the Sports Direct owner this morning. Ahead of the vote chairman Dave King told shareholders that repaying the loan to Ashley, who owns an 8.9 per cent stake in Rangers through MASH [...]
UK house prices: Stamp duty payments have fallen by half since George Osborne introduced reforms, but Londoners are missing out June 12, 2015 The amount property buyers are paying in stamp duty has halved since George Osborne introduced new measures aimed at making homes more affordable in the last Budget – but Londoners are massively missing out on those savings, new research has found. A study by the Post Office and the Centre for Economics and Business Research [...]
David Cameron’s migrant welfare reforms rejected as he holds “open and frank” EU talks June 12, 2015 David Cameron has held "open and frank" discussions with EU leaders in his ongoing campaign to renegotiate the UK's relationship with the EU. The Prime Minister met with leaders from Belgium, Spain, Finland and Romania as he continued to push his agenda for EU reform in Brussels. Migrant benefits become a sticking point Each of the [...]
Doubts cast on George Osborne over RBS sell-off as Andrew Tyrie questions £14.3bn profit claim June 11, 2015 The chairman of the Treasury select committee last night cast doubt on chancellor George Osborne’s claims taxpayers stand to make a £14bn profit from the 2008 banking bailout. Osborne unveiled plans on Wednesday to start selling a 79 per cent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – but at a loss to taxpayers who [...]
Is George Osborne right to prioritise a quick sale of the government’s stake in RBS? June 11, 2015 Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, says Yes With the current stock market offering reasonable value and conditions, and because the market price was not expected to rise significantly before any action was taken, George Osborne is right to take the decision to prioritise the sell-off the state’s stake in RBS. The [...]
Rangers fans call for boycott as Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct wins EGM injunction June 11, 2015 A Rangers fans' group has called for a merchandise boycott after Mike Ashley won an injunction preventing the club's board from revealing confidential information about its retail deal with Sports Direct. Rangers shareholders will meet at Ibrox tomorrow after Ashley called an extraordinary general meeting to demand the repayment of a £5m loan. At the [...]
Theresa May is pushing for snooping powers but the independent reviewer is not so convinced June 11, 2015 Home Secretary Theresa May is continuing her push for further web surveillance powers to counter terrorism, but the independent watchdog has raised some serious questions about her plans in a new report. David Anderson QC, the author of the government-commissioned but independent report , says: There should be no question of progressing proposals for the [...]