Ed Miliband’s attack on developers ignores why housebuilding is in crisis December 16, 2013 ED MILIBAND was right to identify the housing affordability crisis as one of Britain’s most important policy challenges in his speech yesterday. Sadly, his mixed bag of proposals (expanding urban council boundaries, a 200,000 annual home-building target and fines for “land hoarders”) does not address the fundamental reasons why developers are not supplying the market [...]
Letters to the Editor – 17/12 – Scrap Davies, Alternative finance, Best of Twitter December 16, 2013 Scrap Davies If you believe that the importance of hub capacity is overstated there is clearly no need to expand Heathrow. If you believe, as I do, that London and the UK needs an internationally-competitive hub airport, we should be clear what that means. It means an airport with four runways and the capacity to [...]
CNBC Comment: Market blinkered over Irish comeback December 16, 2013 IRELAND has completed a remarkable comeback and has become the first of the European bailout countries to exit the programme. It’s an amazing achievement given everything that has been thrown at Eire. Genuinely well done! OK, enough of the back-slapping. As we clear away the party poppers in Dublin and Brussels, perhaps someone should remember [...]
DailyFX: Analyst picks December 16, 2013 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Stay long sterling-yen Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks I remain long on sterling-yen from ¥167.05, despite the brief pullback from yearly highs just above ¥170.00. As long as momentum remains bullish, sterling-yen remains a buy on dips. [...]
Dacia has made quality on a budget December 16, 2013 The good-looking Duster comes with an even more attractive price tag for money-savvy SUV fans BARGAIN motoring options are not usually part of the brief for this column. But budget brand Dacia has been shaking things up so much recently that it’s impossible to ignore. Once, the Romanian carmaker was making cheap cars for central [...]
Not convinced? December 16, 2013 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… KIA SPORTAGE 1.6 GDI PRICE: £17,495 0-62MPH: 10.7 secs TOP SPEED: 111mph CO2 G/KM: 149g/km MPG COMBINED: 44.1mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Four Stars PERFORMANCE Three Stars PRACTICALITY Three Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Three Stars NISSAN QASHQAI 1.6 VISIA PRICE: £16,895 0-62MPH: 11.9 secs TOP SPEED: 113mph CO2 G/KM: 144g/km MPG COMBINED: 45.6mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN [...]
Blame Spurs chief Levy for AVB failure, says Lineker December 16, 2013 TOTTENHAM and England great Gary Lineker has pointed the finger at chairman Daniel Levy after the club sacked Andre Villas-Boas yesterday. Villas-Boas was fired the morning after losing 5-0 to Liverpool in the team’s worst home Premier League defeat this century. Lineker admitted the appointment had not worked but said those in charge of recruiting [...]
New boy Stokes shines amid the England gloom December 16, 2013 BATSMAN Ian Bell has backed all-rounder Ben Stokes to be an England cricket star of the future after his maiden Test half-century helped to delay Australia’s Ashes series victory yesterday. Stokes hit 72 not out as he and Bell enjoyed a 99-run fifth-wicket partnership that carried England to 251-5 at stumps, 253 short of their [...]
Vitali Klitschko quits boxing December 16, 2013 THREE-TIME world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko has relinquished his WBC title in order to concentrate on his political career. The Ukrainian, 42, an opposition leader in his homeland, has been granted “champion emeritus” status by the WBC, guaranteeing him a title shot if he returns. Klitschko, who had not defended his belt for 15 [...]
Barca and Real could face fines as state aid probe gathers pace December 16, 2013 BARCELONA and Real Madrid could be hit with financial penalties after the European Commission began disciplinary action against some of Spain’s biggest football clubs over possible state aid. Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo said the EC had begun proceedings against seven clubs over various matters, some of which it has been investigating for [...]