The Ukraine crisis has cost Russian banks $5bn – that’s 25 per cent of their revenues April 13, 2015 The Ukraine crisis has hit Russian banks to the tune of somewhere between $4bn and $5bn, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's reckons. That's between a fifth and a quarter of their total operating revenues. It's hardly surprising that the crisis has cost lenders money – but what is surprising is that S&P believes there [...]
House prices in London to fall this year for the first time since 2009 as stamp duty hits property prices April 13, 2015 House price growth in the whole of the UK is about to outstrip London for the first time since 2009, a think tank reckons, after stamp duty and the mansion tax combined to scare buyers. Research published by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) today suggests house prices in the capital will actually [...]
European markets fall from record highs as political uncertainty hits sterling April 13, 2015 Following the jubilant highs achieved by European markets on Friday, things looked rather more muted this morning. Stocks across Europe started the day down amid political and economic uncertainty, while Greece prepared to enter yet another last-chance saloon. The FTSE 100 was down 0.29 per cent in early trading, while Germany's Dax fell 0.27 per [...]
Battle of the runways: Record airport traffic at Heathrow and Gatwick April 13, 2015 The bitter battle between Heathrow and Gatwick airports to build London's next runway just became more heated, after the pair both reported record traffic for March. Heathrow said passenger numbers hit 5.95m during the month, an increase of 3.4 per cent on the same period last year, making last month its busiest ever March. It [...]
FTSE 100 closes at record high (again) April 10, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed at another record high today, showing that political uncertainties aren't overtly worrying investors. The index finished the day 1.1 per cent up at 7,092.5 points, only the fifth time it's closed above 7,000 since it finally broke that barrier in mid-March. The close follows a record-breaking day in Japan overnight, where the [...]
General Electric shares leap on plans to shrink finance arm April 10, 2015 Shares in General Electric rose eight per cent to $27.95 in morning trading in New York, after it announced plans to massively shrink its finance arm. Jeff Immelt, the US giant's chief executive, unveiled plans to reduce the size of GE Capital, moving the company's focus back to its manufacturing roots. The plans included a [...]
Ryanair’s charm offensive is a breath of fresh air April 10, 2015 It’s no surprise Ryanair reported a 28 per cent increase in passenger number this week. Spokesman Kenny Jacobs put it best, when he attributed it to “not unnecessarily pissing people off”. Don’t get me wrong – I used to love reading chief executive Michael O’Leary’s latest ruse for making press noise: standing room only [...]
Pound falls to five year low against the dollar on disappointing construction data as European shares hit their highest in 15 years April 10, 2015 The pound fell to a five-year low in mid-morning trading after data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed weak growth in the industrial and construction sectors. The currency dropped 0.64 per cent to $1.4619 in early afternoon trading, having dipped as low as $1.4605, after growth in the UK's industrial output fell to [...]
London house prices: This nine-bedroom Chelsea mansion just sold for £51m – 300 times the average house price April 10, 2015 A house just outside Chelsea's super-upmarket square The Boltons has sold for just over £51m – that's 300 times the average house price for England and Wales. The Daily Mail reported the nine-bedroom property in Boltons Place had been sold to an offshore company – although the buyer got a deal: it was originally on [...]
It’s official: The coolest offices have slides, nap rooms and an in-office creche April 9, 2015 If you had aspirations of creating a cool work environment but can't quite squeeze in a slide, abandon your hopes now: you'll literally never be trendy. That's according to online gaming site MobileSlots,com, anyway: it's created the definitive list of the items that make up the coolest offices – and the slide is in the [...]
