We’ll never solve the housing crisis if we continue to blame it on house-builders and migrants February 7, 2017 England's housing disaster is well-publicised. Construction has not kept pace with demographic change and successive governments have failed to address the consequences. The hotly-anticipated housing White Paper, out today, will sound an attempt to address this and some backlash against its proposals seems inevitable. It’s commonplace for us to blame greedy house-builders or uncontrolled immigration, [...]
Sadiq Khan splurging £33m a year on “ridiculous” free travel for the flatmates of TfL staff February 1, 2017 A perk for the flatmates of Transport for London employees is costing London taxpayers more than £33m a year in lost revenue, according to new figures. A new analysis by London Assembly Tories has called on mayor Sadiq Khan to scrap the “ridiculous” benefit, currently available to anyone sharing a residence with a TfL worker. [...]
How the Trump rally affected stock market valuations January 19, 2017 Stockmarkets rarely rally in the face of political and economic uncertainty. The combination of Brexit, Donald Trump’s election, the return of inflation and prospect of higher interest rates would normally undermine demand for shares. But instead, stockmarkets have rallied with some indices hitting all-time highs. Investors expect his policies to reinvigorate the US economy, [...]
How the Trump rally affected stock market valuations January 19, 2017 Stockmarkets rarely rally in the face of political and economic uncertainty. The combination of Brexit, Donald Trump’s election, the return of inflation and prospect of higher interest rates would normally undermine demand for shares. But instead, stockmarkets have rallied with some indices hitting all-time highs. Investors expect his policies to reinvigorate the US economy, and [...]
Cairn ploughs on in the North Sea January 17, 2017 Cairn Energy says it has the funds to fuel its projects through to production. The independent oil and gas explorer expects first oil from its Catcher and Kraken developments east of the Shetland Islands this year. The wells are expected to produce 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Simon Thomson, Chief Executive, Cairn Energy PLC said: “Cairn [...]
What entrepreneurs must consider when planning to give employees equity January 17, 2017 Until robots replace workers, entrepreneurs will need to think about how to keep their employees happy. But there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. While some are best inspired by cold, hard cash, others may react better to beanbags and PlayStations. Most entrepreneurs use a variety of incentives. The first step is to work out what’s valuable to [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s salary cap is “bananas” says free marketeers January 10, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been blasted by free-market think tanks for his suggestion of a maximum wage in the UK. Corbyn made the suggestion on Radio 4 this morning, although he did not specify what the maximum salary allowed in the UK should be. The Labour leader claimed that income disparity in the UK [...]
Why solving the country’s housing crisis means backing – not battering – landlords January 10, 2017 Politics is a strange world, and the year’s events (Trump, Brexit and elsewhere in Europe) are topsy-turvy. But I still find it strange that Britain’s best and most effective form of housing provision, the private rented sector, is coming under such consistent attack. Policies such as changes to the way landlords are taxed, the stamp duty [...]
Sports Direct may sell famous brands in bid to become more upmarket January 8, 2017 Sports Direct is looking into selling several of its brands as part of its bid to become the “Selfridges of Sports”. Founder Mike Ashley’s mission to turn the company’s standing around and to make Sports Direct more upmarket has reportedly progressed to ditching brands no longer deemed relevant to the UK market. According to sources, [...]
Resolutions for your money: Experts give their personal finance tips for 2017 January 4, 2017 After the gift giving, sales shopping and other excesses of the festive season, many of us aspire to start the New Year with tighter belts. According to research by Masthaven, 78 per cent of Brits intend to save over the next 12 months, with 34 per cent of them planning to squirrel away more than they [...]