Brussels cats return to Twitter after twin attacks in Belgian city leave at least 34 dead, more than 100 wounded March 22, 2016 Brussels' residents are once again finding solace against terrorism in cat pictures. The Belgian city was the scene of a lockdown in November as authorities attempted to trace suspects behind the Paris attacks, which killed 130 people. At the time, residents were asked not to tweet pictures that might tip off suspects – prompting a wave of cat [...]
London’s best steamed buns: Where to find the ultimate street-food snack March 11, 2016 Steamed buns – variously known as baozi, bao, humbow, nunu, bakpau, bausak, pow – are quite possibly the best thing ever. East Asian countries including Korea, Taiwan, China and Japan all have their own take on this light, fluffy package of sweet or savoury goodness. Thankfully, London has plenty of places you can pick them [...]
Foxtons hit by stamp duty changes and EU uncertainty March 8, 2016 Foxtons said it has been hit by falling volumes in central London as stamp duty pressures put off buyers. The figures Although revenues grew 4.1 per cent to £149.8m in the year to the end of December, pre-tax profits fell 2.6 per cent to £41m, Foxtons said this morning. But sales revenue rose 3.4 per cent to £72.2m as the number of units it sold rose 4.4 [...]
London house prices: Prime Central London property is experiencing a dead-cat bounce, after demand for high-end homes suddenly rose March 7, 2016 London's high-end property market may be experiencing a dead-cat bounce – after demand for homes in London's most exclusive areas spiked as investors attempt to squeeze in transactions before stamp duty is hiked in April. Research by online estate agent Emoov, seen exclusively by City A.M., showed demand for homes worth £1m or more has jumped by [...]
From pensions panic and Barclays bungles to Brexit blues and half pint horrors: Here’s what got us talking this week March 4, 2016 There was a hush hush high profile wedding. There were some fancy cars. And there was the disappointing discovery that having a job actually costs you money. Here's what got us talking 1) Pensions panic Retirees at both ends of the spectrum continued to fret over changes to their pension scheme. In one corner, we [...]
Consumer goods groups challenge financials to become biggest sector in FTSE 100 as Barclays, HSBC, RBS and Standard Chartered share prices plummet year-to-date March 3, 2016 Consumer goods groups are challenging the dominance of financial firms in the FTSE 100 for the first time in a decade. The two sectors are neck-and-neck, with consumer goods actually overtaking financials briefly during February, rising to account for 20.85 per cent of the FTSE 100, compared with 20.61 per cent, before slipping back down again. [...]
MWC 2016 roundup: the biggest new phones announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress February 24, 2016 LG G5 LG’s new flagship handset is one of the first modular designs to market, allowing you to remove part of the phone to snap on new accessories to upgrade or add functionality. So far LG has shown the G5 customised with a camera grip – which adds additional battery capacity as well as shutter [...]
Focus On Shadwell: Good transport and pubs mean promising times ahead in East London February 23, 2016 St Chad – after whom east London’s Chadwelle, now known as Shadwell, is named – is jokingly referred to as the patron saint of botched elections. This modern nickname was applied after the 2000 US election, when irregular “chads” (punched holes) may have defaced enough ballots cost Al Gore the 2000 US election. Chad is [...]
Mobile World Congress 2016: Google’s guide to getting your business noticed on smartphone February 19, 2016 On Monday, marketers will flock to Barcelona for the annual Mobile World Congress – four days of presentations, networking and plenty of sangria. But what most will be looking for is how to convince prospective customers to engage with their brand on the most intimate device we own. Smartphones have become so ingrained in our lives that for [...]
Innovative Finance Isa: A guide to the new product and what it means for investors February 18, 2016 In less than two months, the Innovative Finance Isa will be launched, enabling savers to hold peer-to-peer (P2P) loans within the tax efficient wrapper. Hailed as the moment the P2P industry will chassé into the mainstream, research suggests it’ll also be popular with savers. According to research by P2P lending platform ThinCats, one in four [...]