Nationwide profits resilient despite coronavirus hit November 20, 2020 Building society Nationwide reported a resilient performance in the first half year with profits stable, despite a £139m impairment charge. The lender reported a 17 per cent rise in pretax profit from £309m to £361m, despite a £139m provision for loans that may not be repaid due to the pandemic. Net lending for the six [...]
Why the pandemic and the coming economic downturn will accelerate Bitcoin’s adoption November 18, 2020 In October this year, Mode floated on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. Two weeks later, we decided to allocate a portion of the money we raised to purchase Bitcoin as part of our treasury strategy. In doing so, we became the first plc in the UK to officially announce the diversification of our reserves [...]
The Hollywood of Europe: How the Canary Islands are being reinvented as a film hub October 31, 2020 In the opening scenes of action-thriller Jason Bourne, the film’s forgetful hero, played by Matt Damon, strides through violent protests on the streets of Athens. He meets his spy partner in the iconic Syntagma Square, before being chased through a sea of blue and white flags by a menacing CIA hit squad. But for eagle-eyed [...]
UK house price growth rises to highest rate in five years October 30, 2020 UK house price growth jumped to the highest rate in five years this month, as the market continued to experience a post-lockdown bounce. Annual UK house price growth rose to 5.8 per cent in October, the highest level since January 2015. Property prices were up 0.8 per cent month-on-month compared to growth of 0.9 per [...]
Rush to beat stamp duty rise sees UK house prices jump again October 28, 2020 The stamp duty holiday and pent-up demand have led to a stampede into the housing market, with 140,000 more buyers currently waiting to complete their property transactions than a year earlier, according to a new report. The high demand saw UK house prices jump again in September by three per cent year on year, the [...]
A View to a Kill-ing: Sotheby’s set for historic James Bond auction October 19, 2020 Mayfair’s Bond Street will next month host an exhibition dedicated to its spy namesake as part of an online auction of memorabilia from nearly 70 years of the British franchise.
Barratt reports strong forward sales as housing market recovers October 14, 2020 Barratt Developments (BDEV) has reported an increase in forward sales as the housing market bounced back from the first wave of coronavirus restrictions. The housebuilder said total forward sales as of 11 October increased 16.7 per cent to 15,135 homes at a value of £3.7bn. It also reported a 20.8 per cent increase in its [...]
iPhone 12: What’s new with Apple’s first 5G phone? October 13, 2020 Apple has unveiled its first 5G compatible mobile phone – the iPhone 12 – in a move chief executive Tim Cook said was the “beginning of a new era”. Apple’s first 5G iPhone has been eagerly awaited. The company set the tech world abuzz when it unveiled the “Hi, Speed” tagline for this year’s event, [...]
Nobel Prize in economics: What is auction theory and why is it important? October 12, 2020 US academics Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson have won the 2020 Nobel Prize in economics for their groundbreaking work on the theory and practice of auctions. Milgrom and Wilson, 72 and 83 respectively, are both professors at Stanford University in California. They will split the 10m krona (£850,000) prize and each receive a gold medal. [...]
UK house prices to rise 20 per cent by 2024 October 8, 2020 UK house prices are expected to soar more than 20 per cent by 2024, according to the latest research. Analysis by estate agent Savills found that UK property prices will jump 20.4 per cent in the five years to 2024 Average house prices are expected to increase four per cent this year before stagnating in [...]