LandSec buys up stake in home of BBC Breakfast for £425m November 3, 2021 UK commercial landlord Land Securities said this morning it had bought a 75 per cent stake in MediaCity, a media and tech hub at Salford in Greater Manchester, for £425.6m. MediaCity was a 50:50 joint venture between Legal & General and Peel L&P, and the latter will now retain a 25 per cent stake and [...]
The next memestock? Avis shares rocket 218 per cent in a single day November 2, 2021 Shares in car rental giant Avis are surging this afternoon after positive earnings data, leading some to compare the jump to those of memestocks Gamestop and AMC. Its stock price is currently trading up 81.5 per cent to $316, after paring some early gains. Avis shares were rallying as much as 218 per cent immediately [...]
Markets: Standard Chartered, Flutter and miners put FTSE 100 in a hole November 2, 2021 The FTSE 100 is down this morning, weighed on by Paddy Power owner Flutter and Asia-focussed bank StanChart. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index eased 0.5 per cent after closing at fresh February 2020 highs yesterday, while the UK-centric mid-cap index slipped 0.2 per cent. Miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Anglo American were among the worst performers on [...]
Fishing row: UK welcomes Macron stepping back from Brexit boat threat November 2, 2021 The UK this morning welcomed France having “stepped back” from threats to impose punitive action in a dispute over post-Brexit fishing licences as talks to settle the row continue. Environment secretary George Eustice acknowledged a de-escalation from French president Emmanuel Macron as he held off on the action against British boats that he had warned [...]
London market boosts insurer Hiscox November 2, 2021 Hiscox this morning said its gross premiums written for the first nine months of the year is up 6.1 per cent to to $3.46bn. Its London market did particularly well, with gross written premiums up 7.1 per cent. Huge weather events continue to play a large part in the global insurance and reinsurance market and [...]
End of furlough ‘has not led to surge in jobseekers’ November 2, 2021 The end of the multi-billion-pound furlough wage subsidy has not led to a surge in new job-seekers, according to data that suggests unemployment is unlikely to rise sharply and may bolster the case for a Bank of England interest rate hike. Data by recruitment website Indeed, seen by Reuters ahead of publication, shows only a [...]
Jes Staley leaves Barclays: CEO exits bank after shock report on Epstein links November 1, 2021 Embattled Barclays chief Jes Staley has left his post over his ties with with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Staley will leave his role as chief executive of the bank with immediate effect after a probe into his links with Epstein suggested he mischaracterised the relationship to his employer and UK regulators. The bank’s [...]
One night in Bangkok (quarantine): Thailand reopens to UK tourists November 1, 2021 After nearly two years of all but a trickle of foreign arrivals, Thailand is reopening to mass tourism, with travellers required to spend just one night in quarantine while they await Covid test results. Hundreds of vaccinated foreign tourists this morning arrived in the Thai capital for quarantine-free travel after the Southeast Asian nation approved [...]
Back to 2007: UK house prices rise for every region and buyer type October 18, 2021 It’s a full house for the UK home buying market, with property prices rising last month in every region of the UK, London included, and for buyer types ranging from first-timers to those at the wealthiest rungs of the property ladder. In London, the average property price hit £650,683, up another 1.9 per cent on [...]
Gove the gardener: Are plans for a Tulip tower in London set to bloom again? October 17, 2021 Tulip fever is heading to London, with housing secretary Michael Gove tipped to overule London mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to squash plans for a flower-inspired skyscraper in the City. Gove is expected to give the plans for a 300m tower the OK, the Telegraph reported, which would overturn Khan’s 2019 decision against the Tulip. At [...]