After the Nvidelity comes the Huangover. Jensen Huang joins long list who confused boardroom and bedroom
Property industry reacts to planning system overhaul August 6, 2020 The government has launched a consultation on England’s planning system, as it seeks to slash red tape for new developments. In the planning White Paper, published this morning, the government said it wanted to cut the number of planning cases that are overturned at appeal by creating a “clearer, rules-based system”. Every area will have [...]
Bubble trouble: Lessons from three centuries of boom and bust August 6, 2020 While 2020 has seen its fair share of market turbulence, it has some way to go to match the volatility of 1720. This month marks the 300th anniversary of the peak of the South Sea Bubble — one of the first financial bubbles, and still one of history’s greatest. The bubble began when the South [...]
SMMT: New UK car sales rise 11 per cent post-lockdown August 5, 2020 New UK car sales rose for the first time this year in July as dealerships enjoyed their first full month of trading since reopening after lockdown. According to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations rose 11.3 per cent last month as pent-up demand and special offers tempted consumers to [...]
Thomas Cook buyer Hays Travel to slash 878 jobs August 3, 2020 Hays Travel, which bought Thomas Cook last year after the holiday firm fell into administration, will cut 878 jobs. Nearly a fifth of its total workforce of 4,500 will be made redundant through the cuts as the travel industry continued to suffer the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, owners John and Irene [...]
Government extends Help to Buy scheme due to lockdown delays August 3, 2020 The government has extended the Help to Buy scheme due to construction delays during the coronavirus pandemic. The deadline for homes to have been finished in order to comply with the equity loan scheme has been extended from this December to 28 February next year. The cut-off date for legal completion of the sale is [...]
How badly will coronavirus hit UK house prices in 2020? July 29, 2020 Property experts hope a stamp duty holiday and relaxed lockdown restrictions will protect UK house prices from a sharp coronavirus fall this year. At the height of lockdown, experts predicted that UK house prices could fall by as much as 10 per cent this year due to the impact of coronavirus. However, chancellor Rishi Sunak [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 up but US stocks down amid stimulus hopes July 28, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose but US stocks fell as coronavirus cases climbed around the world and Republicans and Democrats prepared to debate a new stimulus package amid new vaccine trials The UK’s main stock index was 0.3 per cent higher in afternoon trading at 6,120 points after briefly slipping into the red. The FTSE 250 [...]
The good, the bad and the ugly of the cryptocurrency dream July 28, 2020 Way back in 2014, I debated the merits of bitcoin with cryptocurrency evangelist Andreas Antonopoulos. It was a wonderful, civil and not too disobedient dialogue. I was sceptical, not cynical. Six years later, I remain sceptical but now have a cynical bias. Let me explain what I see as the good, the bad and the [...]
A property wealth tax is the only fair way to pay for the Covid-19 crisis July 28, 2020 Two years ago, the director of the Office for Budget Responsibility wrote the following: “Broadly speaking, the fiscal position is unsustainable if the public sector is on course to absorb an ever-growing share of national income… The baseline projection in each of our reports — since the first was published in 2011 — has pointed [...]
Mortgage searches skyrocket following Sunak’s stamp duty holiday announcement July 25, 2020 Mortgage searches have jumped 29 per cent over the last two weeks, after chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a reduction in stamp duty sparked potential homebuyers into action. The chancellor earlier this month unveiled an immediate stamp duty holiday for homes sold for up to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland until 31 March next [...]