Investors could be missing out on thousands by following the advice of the Bank of England’s chief economist October 3, 2016 Property might be the investment of choice for the Bank of England's chief economist but research by a leading investment platform suggests that shares are the best option when saving for retirement. At the end of August, Andy Haldane was lambasted by pension experts for advocating his choice to invest in property rather than in a pension scheme. [...]
Bank of England confirms plans for additional stress tests for UK banks October 3, 2016 The Bank of England will push ahead with plans for an extra set of stress tests next year in order to assess the ability of the UK’s top lenders to weather a financial storm. The Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) confirmed today it will put the UK’s seven biggest banks and building societies through an [...]
Cyber attacks can cost UK businesses up to £1m, BAE Systems says October 2, 2016 Falling foul to a cyber attack would cost one in 10 UK businesses up to £1m, according to fresh research by BAE Systems. The poll of 100 business leaders from private sectors firms with more than 1,000 employees also showed that the average cost of a cyber attack was at least £330,000. Read more: Cyber attack [...]
Business growth expectations at highest levels for over a year says CBI October 2, 2016 The prospect of an interest rate cut in 2016 is diminishing according to experts after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said that it expects a bumper Brexit bounce in the final quarter of 2016. The CBI said that businesses across the manufacturing, service and distribution sectors are anticipating strong output growth for the next three months, jumping to their highest levels [...]
Former MPC member doubts positive economic sentiment and urges the Bank of England to act October 2, 2016 Former interest rate-setter David Blanchflower has urged Mark Carney to act quickly to manage an economic downturn despite an increase in positive economic sentiment being reported. "[The] time to act is now," said Blanchflower who served on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) between 2006 and 2009 and was renowned for championing a rate cut as early as October 2007. Read [...]
Landlords threaten to hike rents after tax changes kick in October 1, 2016 Landlords have claimed they will be forced to raise rents as a result of the government's string of tax changes and crackdowns on the buy to let sector. A new survey also revealed private sector landlords will not be able to invest as much in improving their properties as a result of the extra charges [...]
The UK’s mammoth current account deficit hasn’t disappeared September 30, 2016 Fears over the UK's massive current account deficit have resurfaced today as the extent of the UK's most recent balance of payments shortfall has been revealed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the current account deficit, which measures the difference between the amount of money coming in and going out of the country, was £28.7bn in [...]
UK GDP growth revised up to 0.7 per cent before EU referendum September 30, 2016 The UK economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the three months to the end of June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed this morning as it revised up its previous estimates. The ONS initially thought the UK grew by 0.6 per cent in the run up the the referendum, though it now estimates [...]
Nationwide house price index: House prices grew 0.3 per cent in September but growth slowed on an annual basis September 30, 2016 House prices increased by 0.3 per cent in September, according to the Nationwide house price index. Data for the month revealed that annual house price growth slowed to 5.3 per cent, down from 5.6 per cent in August. The rate of price growth in London slowed to 7.1 per cent in the three months to [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland reveals plans for new structure to comply with UK ring-fencing requirements September 30, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has set out its plans to restructure in order to comply with UK ring-fencing regulations. Legislation requiring the separation of essential banking services from investment banking services will take effect from 1 January 2019. RBS said today that in order to be compliant with its requirements, "we need to [...]