IFS: The next generation to be poorer than their parents at every stage of their lives November 19, 2015 We all know Millennials were at the pointy end of the financial crisis – but the resulting effect could last for the rest of their lives, according to new findings. The research, by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), suggested young people are likely to have less wealth at each point in their lives than earlier generations did at the [...]
HBOS report: How did HBOS collapse? Here’s a timeline showing what happened in the run-up to its fall November 19, 2015 Get ready for the resurgence of the phrase "too big to fail": a Bank of England investigation into the collapse of HBOS is to be published today, and politicians are limbering up for some serious finger pointing. It's the second report into the collapse of the bank, which was rescued by Lloyds TSB and the government in 2008. [...]
Gatwick Airport makes a case for expansion as passenger numbers leap November 19, 2015 Gatwick Airport, the plucky underdog of British airports, came out fighting in its first-half results. The figures Revenues rose 5.2 per cent to £411.8m in the six months to the end of September, pushing earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation up 6.8 per cent to £241m. Meanwhile, profit before tax hit £135.2m. Gatwick said it had been the busiest six months in its [...]
Government promises of “fiscal neutrality” are a red herring: Changes to business rates are going to hurt firms November 18, 2015 Last week, Britain’s biggest high-street retailers publicly urged the government to reform its business rates regime ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement. Many find the current system complicated, unfair to small business and counterproductive to UK growth. Calls for reform have now reached fever-pitch. The government has pledged that any reforms to the current business [...]
Financial Conduct Authority launches probe into competition among asset managers November 18, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched an investigation into competition among asset managers, it said today. The study will look into value for money among both institutional and retail asset managers, as well as looking at whether asset managers can control costs "along the value chain", and whether investment consultants have an effect on [...]
Average UK weekly earnings: Wages rise for the first time since 2008 as gender pay gap narrows – while the City of London remains the UK’s highest-paid local authority November 18, 2015 Average weekly earnings rose to £528 in April 2015, up 1.8 per cent from £518 in 2014 – or 1.9 per cent when adjusted for inflation, the first rise since 2008. The Office for National Statistics' annual hours and earnings survey showed the median salary for full-time employees rose 1.6 per cent to £27,600 in April. But where [...]
London house prices: TfL files planning applications for its first residential developments at Nine Elms, Northwood and Parsons Green November 18, 2015 Transport for London (TfL) may be best known for signal failures, but London's transport authority also has recently announced plans to branch out into property development. Today it announced where its first developments will be, after it submitted planning applications in Nine Elms, Northwood and Parsons Green. Between them, the three sites will yield more [...]
Energy secretary Amber Rudd: UK’s coal-fired power stations “will close by 2025” November 18, 2015 Energy secretary Amber Rudd has announced plans to close the last of the UK's unabated coal-fired power stations by 2025. In a statement this morning, she said a consultation to scrap coal-fired power stations altogether, and restrict their use by 2023, will begin early next year. "It cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK to [...]
From The Pinnacle to 22 Bishopsgate: A short history of the City of London’s next skyscraper November 17, 2015 The City's next glass-and-steel megalith, now known as 22 Bishopsgate, has been given planning approval by unanimous vote at a City of London planning committee. It's the latest chapter in a saga which stretches back to 2006, when the original curved glass design of The Pinnacle building was given planning permission. The eye-catching design earned it the [...]
London’s newest skyscraper – Pinnacle replacement 22 Bishopsgate – given go-ahead by City of London planners November 17, 2015 London's saddest skyscraper may yet be set for a happy ending, after a City of London planning committee gave it the thumbs up. The building formerly known as the Pinnacle – aka the "Helter Skelter", thanks to its complex, curly design – has stood half-built since 2008, after the sheer cost of the project brought it [...]
