Short-term leases for start-up stores January 13, 2013 FIGURES from the British Retail Consortium tell a story familiar to any casual high street visitor. As of November 2012, 11.3 per cent of all UK shops lay empty, with shopping centres laid waste by the collapse of Woolworths, Comet, and Jessops. This isn’t exactly good news for newer retailers. The reasons behind the fall [...]
The future of oil: It’s change or be changed for the largest corporates January 13, 2013 PRESSURES are building on the world’s largest quoted oil firms. Environmental disasters and the economic downturn have taken their toll, but more profound trends are undermining traditional business models in the industry. And it won’t be enough to tinker around the edges. The response must be as radical as that that followed the oil company [...]
Britain must reverse its appalling export record in high-growth markets January 13, 2013 EUROPE continues to dominate the agenda, as the Prime Minister’s eagerly-awaited speech on the subject lies on the horizon. As Europe’s financial capital, there is no doubt that this issue is of critical importance to the future prosperity of London and the UK. The EU accounts for half our exports and is responsible for a [...]
Death of the high street spells doom for retail property January 13, 2013 MORE than one in ten shops in Britain now stand empty. And the situation, the worst it has been in recent years, is unlikely to get better. Gone are the days when consumers spent like lottery winners, and investors could see any high street shop with a good covenant (and upwards-only rent reviews) as the [...]
As third quarter figures disappoint, could the UK be heading towards a triple-dip recession? January 13, 2013 YES Chris Williamson The data available so far for the fourth quarter of 2012 points to a marginal contraction of the economy. Manufacturing output, retail sales, exports and tax revenues are all falling. The big question is whether GDP will also fall in the first quarter of 2013. The Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) [...]
Letters to the editor January 13, 2013 EU membership [Re: Britain is bound to a Single Market at the expense of freedom to trade, Friday] This is a good article, and it’s encouraging to hear that Britain could thrive outside the EU. I can’t understand why so many politicians are so committed. Recent unrest in the southern Mediterranean and German economic stagnation [...]
Great value mortgages are making their way to market January 13, 2013 A BLEAK wider economic picture has made the mortgage market difficult in recent years. Nonetheless, mortgage lending is set to expand by 8.3 per cent in 2013, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). And since the Funding for Lending credit easing scheme was introduced last summer, there has been an increase in the [...]
Junk bonds remain risky for investors in search of yield January 13, 2013 HIGH-yielding bonds have been very popular with investors recently. Uncertainty and the challenging investment environment have pushed investors into fixed-income. But because of increased demand, yields on good quality fixed-income investments have collapsed. Investors have had to look further afield to achieve returns. The UK’s 10-year government debt yield now stands at around 2 per [...]
Hel-Yeah January 13, 2013 YOU can’t see much from the back of a twin-engine Bell 212 helicopter when it’s packed with eleven adventurous skiers. Resembling ski-masked marines on a mission, we sit opposite each other, tightly buckled into our seats as we fly through the Canadian Rockies in spectacular fashion. Heli-skiing is the ultimate off-piste, backcountry skiing experience, in [...]
Forget hotels – live it up in the flat of your dreams January 13, 2013 If you’re on holiday, there are few places in the world better to hang your hat than a luxury hotel. But if you’re a regular business traveller, hotels can be a soul-crushing reminder that you’re a rootless member of the 21st century workforce, eking out your existence in a series of increasingly similar rooms, no [...]
