BBA: Mortgage approvals leap as buyers race interest rate hike October 26, 2015 The number of mortgage approvals leaped 24 per cent in the year to September, figures published this morning showed, suggesting buyers are racing to secure mortgages before interest rates are hiked. The figures, by the British Bankers' Association, showed gross mortgage borrowing in September rose to £12.1bn, 17 per cent higher than a year ago. [...]
What Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal? German business confidence stays strong in October October 26, 2015 Volkswagen bosses may be busily sackcloth-and-ashing, but here's evidence the rest of the business world remains fairly unconcerned about the company's emissions cheating scandal: figures published this morning suggested that while German business confidence has taken a dip in the past month, it's still pretty resilient. The Ifo Business Climate Index, which measures confidence among [...]
The Hatton Garden heist safe store where thieves stole £10m of jewels has been put up for sale by agents Hoffman Partners October 26, 2015 It's not your usual run-of-the-mill office building: the safe store where thieves stole £10m of cash, jewels and other valuables in one of the most daring heists this century has gone up for sale. The Independent reported today that liquidators Streets SPW has appointed agents Hoffman Partners to sell the 1,300 sq ft offices at 88-90 Hatton [...]
Sign of the times? Majestic Wine abandons six bottle minimum purchase October 26, 2015 Is this a sign of how bad things have really become for food and drink retailers? Majestic Wine, the middle classes' favourite mass booze retailer, has just ditched one of its main rules – namely, that all customers are required to buy a minimum of six bottles. Gasp. In a statement today, the company said [...]
Sainsbury’s experiments with futuristic store formats, including faster checkouts, a SmartShop map of your shopping list and a focus on clothes October 23, 2015 You may never have to hear the phrase "unexpected item in the bagging area" again. Sainsbury's said today it's experimenting with futuristic new "SmartShop" technology, which will allow shoppers to scan their shopping lists at home, be shown a map of their items on their smartphone – and then pay by mobile app, meaning they don't have to queue [...]
Markets and commodities jump as People’s Bank of China cuts rates October 23, 2015 Happy Friday. European markets and embattled commodities all jumped this afternoon after the Chinese central bank cut rates, unleashing further stimulus on its economy. The People's Bank of China (PBoC to its friends) cut its one-year deposit and lending rates by 0.25 percentage points each, while it cut its reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points. [...]
UK property prices: As house prices continue to rise, people have just stopped moving house October 23, 2015 Hot on the heels of Deutsche Bank calling the top of the capital's housing market, a survey by Knight Frank has suggested the number of people moving house has fallen to the lowest level since it began its survey in April 2014. The upmarket estate agent, which conducted its study with Markit, said just 4.6 per cent of households [...]
McDonald’s customers are finally lovin’ it as US sales increase for the first time in two years October 22, 2015 The last couple of years have been a hard slog for McDonald's – but it seems new chief executive Steve Easterbrook, has finally enticed US customers back into its stores. The figures Global sales rose four per cent in the three months to the end of September, the fast food giant said today, with sales in the US [...]
CMA rejects bank break-ups – but this one chart suggests big lenders are ripping customers off October 22, 2015 The competition watchdog may have ruled out breaking up Britain's biggest banks this morning – but this one chart shows customers are paying more money for poorer services from the "Big Four". The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) compared satisfaction ratings from the consumer group Which? with personal current account prices at different banks. They [...]
Attention, City workers: Your passion for Caprice Classic Wafers makes you the UK’s fanciest biscuit eaters – while Wales prefers a Rich Tea October 22, 2015 Those who work hard, play hard, it seems. Or at least, they eat fancier biscuits than anyone else – after it emerged workers in Canary Wharf enjoy a Caprice Classic Wafer with their cup of tea. Ooo-errr. A hard-hitting report by Waitrose found that while City workers are altogether continental when it comes to their biscuit tastes, [...]
