Letters to the Editor – 04/02 – Energy supply, Best of Twitter February 3, 2014 Energy supply [Re: As the International Energy Agency doubts UK shale’s potential, is more nuclear the answer?, Friday] The International Energy Agency was right to say that Britain should not have too high expectations regarding the shale gas revolution. But while it argues that increased investment in new, heavily-subsidised nuclear plants would be more desirable, it [...]
Average home to cost £600k February 3, 2014 LONDON’S booming property market is already starting to look like a bubble, while many other parts of the country are still seeing subdued activity since the financial crisis. London’s house price-to-income ratio is back at peak levels, bucking the trend of other regions, where it has fallen back since 2007, according to today’s report [...]
Mining deals to pick up in 2014 after slow year February 2, 2014 THE NUMBER of deals in the mining sector is expected to rise this year, after hitting a seven-year low in 2013, according to new research released today. The report from accountancy firm EY shows that deal volumes – excluding the $46bn (£28bn) Glencore Xstrata merger – fell 25 per cent last year to 702, while [...]
Letters to the Editor – 31/01 – UK democracy, Small business, Best of Twitter January 30, 2014 UK democracy [Re: Scotland’s referendum is a fateful moment for the whole UK, yesterday] I struggle to understand how a system has developed where Scottish MPs vote on policy affecting Wales and England, but Welsh and English MPs can’t vote on some aspects of Scottish policy. Why not follow a similar model to the USA [...]
City Moves for 29 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 28, 2014 KPMG The professional services firm has announced the appointment of Mike Walters as a partner and head of its financial risk management group. He was most recently at Barclays, where he was global head of compliance. Nikko Asset Management The asset management firm has made two senior appointments. Takuya Koyama has been appointed global head [...]
Profit warnings from UK’s quoted firms up 30 per cent at end of 2013 January 26, 2014 THE NUMBER of UK-quoted companies issuing profit warnings soared by 30 per cent in the last quarter of 2013, as fears of a slowdown in global growth dented earnings, according to EY research released yesterday. UK profit warnings fell to a three-year low earlier in the year but 73 warnings were issued in the final [...]
Exchange traded funds could top hedge fund value by end of year January 26, 2014 THE MOUNTAIN of cash invested in exchange traded funds (ETF) could surpass the size of the hedge fund industry as early as next year, a study released today predicts. ETFs, which are baskets of assets which trade like stocks, currently have about $2.4 trillion (£1.46 trillion) of assets under management, close to the $2.6 trillion [...]
The week in brief January 26, 2014 Telefonica plans £200m media planning pitch The Spanish telecoms company is preparing to launch a media planning and buying review across its European business, according to Campaign. The review, thought to be statutory, is expected to start in April and will be run from Madrid. It includes Telefonica’s £50m account for O2, whose UK media [...]
Growth puts the UK on track to beat its budget deficit target January 22, 2014 THE BUDGET deficit narrowed marginally during December this year, dropping by £2.1bn to £12.1bn, compared to the same month of 2012, suggesting that the Treasury may meet its target on public finances after many revisions. Public borrowing for the financial year up to December hit £96.1bn, falling by almost five per cent compared to 2012-13’s [...]
Forward guidance is crumbling – what comes next? January 22, 2014 Two years ahead of the Bank of England’s original schedule, forward guidance is circling the drain, with unemployment now within 0.1 percentage points of the threshold for reconsidering a rate hike. With productivity and wage growth still much diminished, and without significant improvements to exports or investment, the Bank is expected to alter forward guidance [...]