FTSE pegs back on global growth woes October 13, 2011 THE UK’s top share index retreated from a key technical level yesterday, with bank stocks hammered after being hit by a downgrade from credit rating agency Fitch just a week after rival Moody’s. Barclays fell 7.4 per cent, while RBS closed 6.4 per cent lower and Lloyds lost 5.5 per cent. Trade data from China [...]
Weak results slow Wall Street October 13, 2011 THE Dow and S&P 500 slipped yesterday after JP Morgan’s earnings and China’s soft trade data revived worries about the impact of slower growth on profits. The declines put an end to three straight days of gains that capped off a 12 per cent increase in the S&P 500 since hitting a low on 4 [...]
To keep the economy flying we need more air capacity: Heathwick is our best hope October 13, 2011 AS AN island nation, the ability to move people and goods effectively and quickly to and from our shores is of vital importance to British business”. So says David Frost, former director-general of the British Chamber of Commerce, and he couldn’t be more right. A culture that throws so many obstacles in the way of [...]
A Slovakian MP reveals why he rejects bailouts October 13, 2011 CAN YOU SUM UP FOR BRITISH READERS WHY YOU AND YOUR PARLIAMENTARY COLLEAGUES VOTED TO REJECT THE BAILOUT MOTION? Many reasons – the moral hazard, the fallacy of trying to solve indebtedness with more debt which will only prolong the agony, the principle that poorer people in responsible countries must not pay for the irresponsibility [...]
Closing Britain’s doors turns creativity away October 13, 2011 I WISH David Cameron would stop insulting my wife. Of course, he doesn’t think he’s doing anything of the kind. His speech on immigration this week was scattered with careful phrases about wanting “the brightest and the best”, in between all the paragraphs detailing the slam of the national gate and the screwing tight of [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 13, 2011 Smaller portions Actually, the idea that most food was local 100 years ago [Celebrate Big Food, in yesterday’s Forum] is a long way from the truth. In 1900 both J Sainsbury and Lipton stores carried a huge range of imported food from the Empire and the Continent. Egyptian quails, Bordeaux pigeons as well as French, [...]
CLAPHAM, SW4 October 13, 2011 CALDERVALE ROAD Price: £950, 000 On a tree-lined street just a few minutes walk from Clapham Common, this four bedroom family home stretches over 1,800 square feet and has room for extension. The property retains many of its original features. Contact: Douglas & Gordon on 020 8675 4400 or go to www.douglasandgordon.com CLAPHAM COMMON Price: £2.45m [...]
SELL October 13, 2011 CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT DESIGN CONSULTANCY APD INTERIORS Q. Instead of moving home I am thinking about converting my loft. What do I need to consider? A. Given the high costs associated with moving and the current state of the property market it can be easier to look at your existing home and consider how it [...]
THE LONDON BAROMETER October 13, 2011 DIRECTOR OF DOUGLAS & GORDON FAR fewer people are opting to move house since the cost of moving has become prohibitive for many homeowners. With current economic uncertainty we were expecting lower applicant numbers in September, but we were surprised by how they held up. We could be at a pivotal point in the market [...]
Next hotspots for price growth October 13, 2011 EVERYONE has read the headlines about the soaring prices of core prime central London properties – that’s homes in Chelsea, Mayfair and Belgravia. Foreign investment in the market has brought a price boom that the average well-to-do Brit just can’t keep pace with. Understandable, when the “square footage” – the price per square foot – [...]