How the arrival of the World Wide Web has changed the mortgage market March 12, 2019 In 1989, the Swiss physics laboratory, CERN, was buzzing with information but it had one big problem: ideas, data and knowledge held by the lab was stored across incompatible computers. A young scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, envisioned creating a unifying structure for sharing information across its computer systems. He wrote a proposal for a linked information [...]
Lending rises for remortgages but falls for UK house buyers at end of 2018 March 12, 2019 Mortgage lending was up for remortgaging and down for house purchasing in Britain in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to a year earlier, new statistics by the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have shown. The proportion of high loan-to-income (LTI) loans, those greater than four times the value of annual income [...]
LK Bennett collapses into administration March 7, 2019 Upmarket women’s footwear retailer LK Bennett has collapsed into administration, in the latest sign of industry trouble on the high street. Some 500 jobs across 39 stores are now at risk at the high end firm, which has appointed accountancy firm EY as administrators. In a statement this afternoon, EY said: "A sale process for the [...]
UK house prices: Experts cast doubt on ‘volatile’ Halifax price hike figures March 7, 2019 House prices rose almost three per cent at the start of 2019 compared to the same period last year, new figures revealed today. Annual house price growth hit 2.8 per cent in the three months to February compared to the corresponding time in 2018, Halifax’s house price index said today – much higher than the [...]
Is the Innovative Finance Isa worth it? We look at the pros and cons March 6, 2019 At barely three years old, the Innovative Finance Isa still has some proving to do. And for some savers, it’s a product that is deemed too risky. But how risky is it really? Of course, the IFISA is merely a tax-free wrapper, so the risk actually depends on the underlying investments held within. And while [...]
Green shoots: British new car registrations up for first time in five months March 5, 2019 February brought signs of hope for Britain’s embattled car manufacturing industry, with new car registrations rising for the first time in five months. New car registrations in the UK rose 1.4 per cent to 81,969 vehicles after five straight months of decline, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Read [...]
Houseplants are all the rage, but are they are millennial cry for help? We speak to the companies cultivating this urban jungle March 5, 2019 Millennials have been accused of killing almost every industry there is, but there may be one that 25-35 year olds are actually propping up. Houseplants are taking off like an avocado tied to a racing drone among Generation Rent, prompting investigations by such serious organs as The Washington Post and New York’s Nylon magazine, in [...]
UK construction activity falls for first time in 11 months March 4, 2019 UK construction activity declined in February for the first time in eleven months led by a drop in commercial building work. Civil engineering work also fell but residential construction continued to grow for the 13th consecutive month, according to the IHS Markit / CIPS Construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The survey of businesses also found [...]
What Anthony Scaramucci did next March 4, 2019 After a brief and calamitous stint in the White House catapulted him to international fame, Anthony Scaramucci is back at SkyBridge Capital, the hedge fund he founded in 2005, he has revealed in an interview with Opto magazine. For a brief period in July 2017, Anthony Scaramucci found himself at the centre of American politics. [...]
A lesson in resigning etiquette from the newly formed Independent Group March 1, 2019 Thinking about leaving your job? Research from insurance firm LV suggests that UK workers change employers every five years on average. Whether it’s career progression, a fresh start, or escaping an unpleasant boss, there are many reasons why we decide to call it a day on a job. Last week, MPs from both sides of [...]