Krafty move: Unilever shareholders condemn potential relocation from London as a protectionist defence February 25, 2018 Top shareholders in Marmite maker Unilever have hinted that they may object to a possible relocation of the company’s headquarters from London. Directors of the Anglo-Dutch group are expected to vote in the coming weeks on where Unilever should maintain its base, after the company promised last year to simplify its corporate structure in the [...]
Opinion: London’s buyers market is a consequence of estate agents irresponsibly over-pricing properties February 23, 2018 The average London home is now sold at 4 per cent below its original asking price, according to the Hometrack Cities Index, up from just 0.5 per cent in 2014. Many are taking it as a sign that homeowners are desperately discounting their homes in an effort to sell, and that the capital has now [...]
The risers and fallers of London boroughs ranked on house price growth as wider UK demand remains robust February 19, 2018 Housing demand remains resilient fuelling "cautious optimism" among new sellers in most regions of the UK, according to a new report fromRightmove. Average asking prices were up by 0.8 per cent (£2,414) this month, with all regions but one recording the price of newly-marketed property rising this month. The south west was "a very marginal [...]
UK house prices: First-time buyers £27,000 better off than renters – and more than £50,000 more privileged in London February 17, 2018 Britons are pouring thousands of pounds in the pockets of landlords each year by renting their home rather than buying it. UK first-time buyers are an average of £27,000 better off than renters over a mortgage term, Halifax said today. And in London, the savings are even greater. Homeowners in the capital save an average [...]
Focus On Chalk Farm: property prices, best streets and house price growth February 16, 2018 Clustered in among some of London’s most popular neighbourhoods, Chalk Farm is a sort of dividing line between the tourists and the nightlife of Camden, and the exclusive neighbourhoods of Primrose Hill and Belsize Park. As such, it’s moments away from both – with 24 hour transport links now the Northern line has joined the [...]
First-time buyers at 10-year high in 2017 but the mortgage market weakened in December February 13, 2018 The number of mortgages taken out by first-time buyers boomed last year to its highest level since 2006, buoyed by the Help to Buy subsidy. Banks lent money to 365,000 first-time buyers in 2017, an increase on the year before of 7.4 per cent, according to UK Finance, the lenders’ industry body. However, the December [...]
Shame on both the buyers and the sellers of volatility products February 13, 2018 Well this is more fun now, isn’t it? I mean, aren’t we all just a little bit more excited about equity markets now that strange concept of a “two-way market” has been reintroduced for the first time since the market carnage in 2016? Isn’t it great to finally see some of the most stupid and [...]
Lloyds ban on credit card Bitcoin purchases is the right move February 6, 2018 On Monday, Lloyds Banking Group announced it has banned its credit cards from being used to buy Bitcoin. The decision includes Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA credit cards. It follows a similar move by US banks. It’s a hard decision to argue with. Regardless of the inherent volatility in the value of [...]
Michelle Mone’s latest bitcoin gambit is EQUI, a venture capital firm to back tech startups with its own cryptocurrency initial coin offering (ICO) February 6, 2018 Fresh from offering luxury apartments in Dubai to buyers with bitcoin, bra tycoon and baroness Michelle Mone is delving deeper into cryptocurrency. Along with boyfriend and businessman Doug Barrowman, the pair are launching a venture capital firm supported by the launch of their own cryptocurrency via what’s known as an initial coin offering (ICO), or [...]
It’s high time archaic cannabis prohibition went up in smoke February 5, 2018 Five years ago, Colorado and Washington became the first two states in the US to legalise cannabis. Alaska and Oregon followed, and at the beginning of this year, California and Nevada joined them. This month will see Maine start sales and Connecticut debate legalisation, while to the north, Canada will start selling on the same [...]