Hedgies and pollsters: Let’s keep a level head September 28, 2018 In the run-up to the EU referendum Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson railed against hedge funds that were using private polling to inform their trading positions. “I hope the government will put measures in place to prohibit this avaricious plan by financiers to benefit from information that belongs to every voter,” Watson said at [...]
Labour will tell major UK companies to hand 10 per cent of equity to workers September 23, 2018 The Labour party opened up a new front in its war with business last night, revealing a plan to force companies to put 10 per cent of shares into so-called "inclusive ownership funds". Workers could receive up to £500 a year from the funds, according to the policy. However, any additional revenues "will be transferred [...]
Now is not the time to reform Help to Buy – it’s the time to scrap it entirely September 5, 2018 Housebuilders weighed on the FTSE yesterday following reports that the government is unlikely to extend the Help to Buy programme – in its current format – beyond 2021. Help to Buy has been doping up the housing market for more than half a decade since former chancellor George Osborne revealed his plan to stimulate demand. Prices [...]
Crossrail’s delay sounds depressingly familiar September 3, 2018 With a plethora of talented engineers at our disposal and a rich history of leading the world in pioneering rail projects, it is depressing to witness Britain’s clumsy approach to improving the country’s transport links. Commuter services into the City still woefully under-serve the UK’s economic engine. Meanwhile, news has broken that Crossrail has succumbed [...]
Up front: Former Arsenal and England star Alan Smith reveals uncomfortable relationship with Ian Wright in his new book August 30, 2018 Footballers have many habits that set people’s eyes rolling. One is their penchant for releasing ghost-written autobiographies at exceptionally young ages. Wayne Rooney’s “story”, for example, was first published when he was 20 years old. Alan Smith, however, was never the typical footballer, right back to his teenage years when he insisted on taking A-levels [...]
Voters believe Jeremy Corbyn would divide post-Brexit Britain, according to a new poll August 28, 2018 The 2017 General Election seems like a long time ago, such is the degree of political jockeying to have taken place in the intervening period – yet not even 15 months have passed since Jeremy Corbyn shocked analysts by eliminating Prime Minister Theresa May's parliamentary majority. Labour's strong showing in that election was pinned on [...]
Chequers Brexit plan puts the Tories in a perilous position as Theresa May’s party sinks in the polls July 15, 2018 Theresa May's ongoing survival as Prime Minister is fascinating for the fact that it rests so heavily on the lack of a politically-viable, workable alternative. Her party, and Westminster as a whole, are so factious that no group has both the ability and the incentive to remove her from power, no matter how much they [...]
Berkeley boss Tony Pidgley has made an ominous call about the future of London’s housing market June 21, 2018 Legendary housebuilder Tony Pidgley is primarily known for three things. Firstly, he was a Barnardo’s baby, subsequently adopted by a family of gypsies. Secondly, from such humble beginnings he rose to become one of the UK’s highest-paid business chiefs. And thirdly, he is credited with calling the house price crash at the end of the [...]
Hedge funds bag £80m on huge crash in construction giant Carillion’s share price July 11, 2017 A number of London hedge funds were celebrating yesterday after raking in tens of millions of pounds when shares in construction giant Carillion fell off a cliff. Carillion chief exec Richard Howson stepped down with immediate effect as the firm issued a severe warning over its profits, revealing that it had been forced to take [...]
