Chinese growth falls to 25-year low – but markets shrug it off January 19, 2016 They say forewarned it forearmed, and Chinese markets seemed to agree last night, after they shrugged off potentially devastating growth figures. The country reported gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.9 per cent in 2015, the slowest pace of annual growth since 1990. But while the figure was disappointing, it was broadly in line with [...]
EU referendum: The UK’s property sector is emphatically against the idea of a Brexit January 18, 2016 The UK's property sector is not enthusiastic about the idea, a new poll has shown – with 65 per cent saying leaving the EU would have a negative impact on investment in the sector. No kidding. The poll, by property consultancy Carter Jonas, also found 10 per cent of those surveyed said they would consider relocating [...]
Oxfam’s pre-Davos wealth report says the world’s 62 richest people own half the wealth – but global inequality is actually falling January 18, 2016 Oxfam gets a lot of mileage out of its global inequality statistics. Back in 2014, we were told that the world's top 85 wealthiest people owned as much as the bottom half, 3.5bn. Now we’re told 62 own as much as the other half—you could fit them all on a coach, the Oxfam chief executive helpfully told us in [...]
Credit Suisse share price falls as it unveils plans to cut London costs by £627m and make job cuts January 18, 2016 Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse has confirmed it will slash costs by hundreds of millions of pounds in an effort to reduce its London office, it has been reported. The BBC said this morning that the bank told investors it was targeting cost reductions of SFr3.5bn (£2.4bn), with SFr900m of those reductions – about £627m – [...]
Science has just proved that nice guys don’t finish last January 18, 2016 Here's scientific proof that "Mr Nice Guy" will win out in the end. Or that's what a new study has suggested, after it concluded that actually, nice men tend to finish first when it comes to relationships. The study, by the the University of Worcester, found women prefer certain kinds of altruism than just physical appeal. [...]
Why stamp duty reforms are turning prime London into the world’s most exclusive rental market January 18, 2016 What's the point of paying astronomical levels of stamp duty when you could just rent an ultra-exclusive home? A new report has suggested billionaires may simply rent prime properties, rather than buying them – and potentially save millions of pounds. The figures, by Tunstall Property, suggest that for most buyers of ultra-expensive homes, following reforms to the stamp [...]
European shares rise as FTSE 250 opens higher, with Home Retail’s share price rising nearly three per cent January 18, 2016 The FTSE 100 started the day higher, edging up 0.6 per cent, before it dipped to 5,826 points at the end of the first hour of trading – 0.4 per cent up – despite a mixed performance on Asian markets. The day's stellar performer was FTSE 250-listed Home Retail Group, whose shares rose 3.5 per cent to 159.2p. [...]
Oil edges closer to $28 as Brent and WTI crude both drop thanks to end of Iran sanctions January 18, 2016 Oil investors were showing their nerves today, with the price of both Brent crude and WTI crude edging closer to $28, as sanctions against Iran were lifted, potentially adding millions of barrels of oil to an already oversupplied market. Brent, the global benchmark, dropped to $28.17 in early trading, while the US-focused WTI fell to $28.71. The [...]
Fintech is about to lead the financial services sector into a new era January 18, 2016 I have been leading our firm's involvement in the CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey for several years now. It has been very interesting to see the ebb and flow of the financial services sector during this period. I have observed the doom and gloom of the financial crisis, the spike of optimism shortly after, the reality [...]
One person in a coma and several in critical condition after French drug trial goes wrong, health minister says January 17, 2016 French health minister Marisol Touraine has said one person is brain-dead and five others are in a critical condition after the clinical trial of a new drug went wrong, AFP has reported. The trial, of an oral medication, was taking place at a clinic in Rennes, in Brittany. There had been reports that the drug being [...]
