Brand Index: Blackberry’s new model failed to stem its brand decline August 26, 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 [...]
There’s no point in a financial services Trip Advisor unless reputation matters August 22, 2013 ONCE again, a major mis-selling scandal has broken out, with 13 high street banks and credit card issuers facing a £1.3bn redress bill for mis-sold card protection policies. No amount of financial regulation seems to stop the flow. Until 1986, there were no mis-selling scandals. The sales of financial products were regulated by contract law [...]
Letters to the editor – 22/08 – Global competition, HS2 debate, Best of Twitter August 21, 2013 Global competition [Re: We should be glad that foreign firms want to buy British companies, yesterday] I agree with Tim Worstall. It is essential that financiers and investors have a viable route to a profitable exit. And a foreign sale is often an important avenue. UK venture capital typically wishes to sell on in four to [...]
UK ships gold to Switzerland in Asian rush August 19, 2013 DURING the first half of this year alone, the UK exported 797 tonnes of gold to Switzerland, far outstripping the 72 tonnes traded in the whole of last year. The value of the gold exported between January and June was around £25bn, and the Macquarie Group believe that is being sold to satisfy soaring demand [...]
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 [...]