Buyers flock to market but supply shortage hits sales August 18, 2013 IN THE year to July, the number of first-time buyers in London rose by an astonishing 109.1 per cent. According to information released today by estate agent Haart, there has been a 27.9 per cent rise in new buyers across the country, and a 60.3 per cent increase in London alone. Despite this surge in [...]
London housing bubble inflates further August 16, 2013 LONDON house prices soared to more than 12-times the average income in June, official figures showed yesterday, as economists warned the boom could prove unsustainable. Government policies to keep interest rates low and help first time buyers onto the property ladder are pumping up a bubble, analysts said. The average price in London shot up [...]
London housing bubble inflates further August 13, 2013 LONDON house prices soared to more than 12-times the average income in June, official figures showed yesterday, as economists warned the boom could prove unsustainable. Government policies to keep interest rates low and help first time buyers onto the property ladder are pumping up a bubble, analysts said. The average price in [...]
Brand Index: Blackberry’s new model failed to stem its brand decline August 13, 2013 THERE was a spike for BlackBerry on Twitter on Monday with 41 per cent of the UK Twitter population exposed to messages about the brand. They were of course hearing the news that the mobile phone manufacturer is setting up a committee to explore potential business model options, including selling off the company. So what [...]
Government gloats of Help to Buy success as bubble expands August 13, 2013 Since the launch of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme in April, there have been 10,000 reservations for new build homes: evidence, the government has said, that the scheme is working (release). Earlier today, communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles said: This government’s package of measures to boost the housing market is working, [...]
Rising lending sparks surge in house prices August 12, 2013 THE PROPERTY market is steaming ahead of the rest of the economy, as mortgage lending and a surge of buyers in July drive the UK’s emerging recovery. Figures revealed today show that July saw the largest rise in house prices since before the crash, after statistics out yesterday confirmed that lending to first-time buyers [...]
Letters to the editor – 13/08 – Board quotas, Forward guidance, Best of Twitter August 12, 2013 Board quotas [Re: We must be more meritocratic – but quotas are not the answer, yesterday] The quota plans come at a time when there is an existing organic trend towards greater workplace equality. More females apply to university than males, and 60 per cent of law and medicine students are women. Figures from the [...]
Any Other Business – 12/08 August 11, 2013 ■ If you’ve ever fancied your own private jet, now would be the perfect time to buy. According to business aircraft manufacturer Beechcraft, 20.8 per cent of the light and midsized private jet market in the UK is currently up for sale, with 19 per cent on the market across Europe. Anything over 10 per [...]
How to sweet talk your way onto the shelves at Harrods August 11, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks trade fairs and sherbet lemons with the founders of premium confectionary company Jealous LUXURY confectionary brand Jealous has been in a year-long hiatus following a modern-day tale of David versus Goliath. Like many startups before it, the company has been tied up in a trademark tangle with a market leader, and [...]
Rio Tinto scraps aluminium sale as earnings fall August 8, 2013 RIO TINTO’S chief executive yesterday said that China’s economy is unlikely to recover significantly this year but he does not expect “a hard landing”, as falling commodity prices led to a 71 per cent drop in first-half net profits. “China is best described as ‘steady as it goes’,” chief executive Sam Walsh told City [...]