Stamp duty is feeding the growing bubble in London’s house prices February 16, 2014 SUPPORTERS of financial transaction taxes (FTT), often known as Robin Hood taxes, claim that they can make markets safer. But a look at London’s frothy housing market makes this argument difficult to sustain. FTTs remove liquidity from markets, making bubbles more likely to form. And it looks like London house prices are booming thanks to [...]
Letters to the Editor – 13/02 – Confused guidance, Scottish sterling, Best of Twitter February 12, 2014 Confused guidance [Re: Carney’s new focus is spare capacity. Here’s what you need to know, yesterday] Having clearly demonstrated that it is utterly incapable of producing credible forecasts for inflation, GDP, and unemployment, the Monetary Policy Committee is now going to determine policy based on something (spare capacity) that is not only unforecastable, but unmeasurable [...]
City Moves for 12 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 11, 2014 Cushman & Wakefield The real estate services firm has announced the appointment of David Mills as a partner and head of portfolio valuation. He was most recently at BNP Paribas Real Estate, where he was a director in its portfolio valuation practice. Standard Chartered The bank has hired Michael Benz as group head of private banking. He [...]
House building spending to hit record in 2017 February 9, 2014 INVESTMENT in housing will surpass its pre-crisis peak in 2017, according to a new forecast out today from EY’s Item Club. Spending on building and maintaining houses will rise by 6.8 per cent this year and 10.1 per cent next year, eventually beating the 2006’s £68bn record in 2017. Such a strong increase may be [...]
City Moves for 07 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 6, 2014 City Index Mark Preston has been appointed chief executive at the online broker. He has over 25 years’ experience in trading and banking. Preston was previously chief executive of Europe for CIBC, co-head of corporate markets at Lloyds Bank, and a principal at Valere Capital. BNP Paribas Securities Services The investment custodian has made four appointments [...]
Letters to the Editor – 07/02 – Spillover effects, Charity lobby, Best of Twitter February 6, 2014 Spillover effects [Re: Global growth has peaked for now – but no need to panic, Wednesday] We’re all talking about the spillover effects of US monetary policy on emerging markets at the moment, but consider the situation over the next five to ten years. Governments across the West will surely embrace rising prices as a [...]
London’s housing shortage is cramming young families into shared homes February 6, 2014 The number of families living in shared houses ballooned by 70 per cent in the decade up to the last census, as typically young families are increasingly locked out of a the UK’s harsh housing market. The Office for National Statistics has broken down some census data on the number of concealed families in England [...]
Letters to the Editor – 06/02 – Quango bonfire, Global growth, Best of Twitter February 5, 2014 Quango bonfire [Re: How charities lavish millions of taxpayer money on left-wing campaigns, yesterday] The government should consider revisiting its “bonfire of the quangos”, although they should see it through properly this time. Over 200 have been axed, with impressive savings upwards of £2bn quoted, but far too many of the roles have been rehashed, [...]
Tech resentment in San Francisco is ignoring the real culprit: Government February 4, 2014 RENTS are rising, pushing people on low incomes out of the neighbourhoods they’ve lived in for years. Resentment towards the rich is growing, with the most profitable and dynamic industries singled out for the most ire. Talk of a cost of living crisis, driven above all by the cost of housing, is dominating politics. This [...]
Tech resentment in San Francisco is ignoring the real culprit: Government February 3, 2014 RENTS are rising, pushing people on low incomes out of the neighbourhoods they’ve lived in for years. Resentment towards the rich is growing, with the most profitable and dynamic industries singled out for the most ire. Talk of a cost of living crisis, driven above all by the cost of housing, is dominating politics. This [...]