General Election 2015: Austerity “would last longer under SNP” – IFS April 23, 2015 Austerity would last longer if the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) spending plans were followed, the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed this morning. At points, their proposed squeeze on public spending would also be tighter than others. In an extensive pre-election document comparing the fiscal plans of the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal [...]
London Marathon 2015: Canada Water station to be renamed Buxton Water for one day only April 23, 2015 Canada Water station will be renamed "Buxton Water" during the London Marathon, Transport for London (TfL) has said. The renaming – during which all the Canada Water roundels will be replaced, and Buxton Water branding will be put up around the station – is part of plans by TfL to make £3.4bn from "non-fare income" [...]
General Election 2015: David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg on how they’re going to solve the housing crisis (and which is their favourite room) April 23, 2015 House prices are too high and there aren't enough homes on the market, a new – not altogether surprising – study has suggested. But with an election just days away, property search giant Rightmove, which conducted the research, decided to take it to the leaders of each party to see what they're going to do [...]
Brussels serves formal antitrust charges against Gazprom April 22, 2015 After days of ramping up the pressure, the European Commission (EC) has finally served formal antitrust charges against Russian oil giant Gazprom. The decision is the culmination of a four-year investigation into Gazprom's power over gas supplies to eastern European countries. The EC accused Gazprom of overcharging its customers illegally and pushing out its rivals. [...]
Navinder Singh Sarao fights US extradition on charges over 2010 “flash crash” April 22, 2015 The British trader accused of causing the 2010 US Flash Crash is fighting his extradition to the US, as prosecutors at Westminster Magistrates Court argued he should be denied bail on the basis he may runaway. Navinder Singh Sarao, who ran a small futures trading company called Nav Sarao Futures based in Hounslow, is [...]
In pictures: Flats at Canary Wharf’s Wood Wharf and Newfoundland neighbourhood open for registration today April 22, 2015 Fed up with your daily commute? Canary Wharf has a solution: it's just put 3,200 homes on sale, around the corner from its office development. Alright, so they're not actually built yet – but good things come to those who wait…. The flats are part of Canary Wharf's first expansion since the beginning of the [...]
General Election 2015: How Tony Blair presided over the biggest rise in UK house prices in history April 22, 2015 There's no easy way to say this, but Tony Blair, rather than the likes of Margaret Thatcher or David Cameron, was the Prime Minister who presided over the highest-ever rise in property prices, it turns out. Research from Knight Frank suggests house prices rose a staggering 211.3 per cent during Blair's premiership – higher than [...]
London house prices: Havering, Croydon and Bromley are London’s Help to Buy hotspots April 22, 2015 This month is the second anniversary of the launch of Help to Buy, the scheme which allows cash-strapped house buyers to borrow 95 per cent mortgages. The scheme may be one of the government's most controversial policies, but it has also been one of its most popular. In fact, new research suggests that, as of [...]
UK house prices: Babies born today will pay £3.4m for their first home April 21, 2015 If the current generation of first-time buyers thought they had it bad, spare a thought for the children born today, who will have to pay several million pounds for their first home, research has revealed. A study by online estate agent Emoov found that, given house price inflation – which has averaged out at 8.6 [...]
Goldman Sachs settles sex discrimination case with City high flyer April 21, 2015 The Goldman Sachs banker who sued her former employer over claims of discrimination has settled with the bank out of court, it was confirmed this morning. Ms Sonia Pereiro-Mendez, who failed to turn up for her tribunal against Goldman today at the Central London Employment Tribunal, left a tribe of journalists and photographers [...]
