Rothschild trust assets at record levels despite “uncharted waters” August 15, 2016 While we may be in the middle of what Lord Rothschild described as "what is surely the greatest experiment in monetary policy in the history of the world", the investment trust he chairs hit all-time asset value highs. RIT Capital Partners announced that its assets stood at £2.5bn with net assets growing by £567m in the [...]
The roller-coaster ride that is the Southern Rail dispute takes a new turn as talks break down August 15, 2016 Arbitration talks to end the dispute between the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union and Southern Rail have broken down. In news that will send shivers down the spines of many of the capital's commuters, the RMT said that Southern had rejected "solid" proposals in relation to the role of guards (or "second persons") on the trains. [...]
London’s rental market stalled after glut of new properties August 15, 2016 An over-supply of property was the reason average London rental values dropped for the first time in nearly six years. Prices were 0.5 per cent lower – saving renters an average of £7 per month – compared to July 2015 according to estate agent Countrywide. The last time there was a year-on-year fall was in November 2010 when the average [...]
London sees Britain’s largest house price drop over last four weeks August 15, 2016 London house prices were the worst performing in Britain as they fell by the largest amount over the last four weeks. The average asking price for the capital's houses dropped by 2.6 per cent compared to a national decrease of 1.2 per cent, the Rightmove house price index revealed. Westminster was the worst performing in London with prices flopping 14.5 per cent from [...]
Tech darling Misys said to be in line for a return to the stock exchange August 14, 2016 Misys remained tight-lipped amid talk over the weekend of a possible listing that would revoke memories of being the darling of the dotcom bubble in the 1990s. Now owned by American buyout firm Vista Equity Partners, the banking software developer is reported to be in line to raise £5.5bn from the listing. This would net its owners a bumper return [...]
UK offshore companies side-step new transparency rules August 14, 2016 Some of Britain's offshore companies have continued to wriggle out of new transparency restrictions according to research released this weekend. Under rules brought in on 1 July 2016, British companies need to disclose on an annual basis any changes to directors or shareholders – both being deemed "persons of significant control". Read more: New corporate [...]
Johnston Press boss defends bond buybacks August 14, 2016 Johnston Press defended plans to buy back its own bonds at a healthy discount. The beleaguered publisher, whose share price is a fifth of where it was at the start of the year, said that this was not a new policy. "We have always stated we would use disposals to both strengthen balance sheet and pay [...]
Heads, shoulders, knees and toes: the cost of footballing injuries August 12, 2016 Injuries cost English Premier League clubs over £157m in wages last year, taking the total cost over the last five years to an eye-watering £0.7bn. Not afraid to complain about injuries, Arsene Wenger's concerns appear to be substantiated as Arsenal players were on the sidelines for a total of 1,553 days during the 2015/16 season. However this only put them second on [...]
Bank of England assertions on pension scheme deficits to be “tested” August 11, 2016 Experts reacted to the contention from the Bank of England that lower yields had a “relatively limited” effect on pension scheme deficits. The minutes of the MPC played down the impact of ballooning pension deficits – despite the trend continuing as yields fell after last week’s interest rate cut. “Lower yields posed potential risks to some aspects of the functioning [...]
