Mortgage approvals rise to nine-month high while consumer borrowing growth slows, says Bank of England November 29, 2018 Mortgage approvals rose to a surprising nine-month high last month, while consumer borrowing increased at its slowest pace since May 2015, the Bank of England said today. While the Bank said mortgage market activity was “broadly stable” in October, households borrowed an extra £4.1bn against their homes and the number of mortgages approved rose to [...]
DEBATE: Is there any point in having a televised debate over Theresa May’s Brexit deal? November 29, 2018 Is there any point in having a televised debate over Theresa May’s Brexit deal? Mo Lovatt, lecturer in Cultural and Creative Industries and co-chair of The Great Debate, says YES. The message coming out of the Prime Minister’s office this week is that “people are bored with Brexit”, so it’s time to #BackTheBrexitDeal. The strategy is [...]
Stocks soar on Fed chair’s dovish signal on interest rates November 28, 2018 The chair of the Federal Reserve took a softer line on interest rates yesterday, after being slammed by President Donald Trump over his hawkish policies. Jerome Powell hinted he may end interest rate hikes, saying rates are now “just below” the level which would not impact a healthy economy. Buoyed by the statement, Wall Street [...]
Five reasons why tech stocks are in trouble November 27, 2018 For months, technology stocks have been the holy grail for growth, with valuations reaching dizzying heights. So, considering that what goes up must come down, perhaps it’s not surprising that stocks started tumbling last week. Share prices for each of the five tech giants – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (the so-called Faangs) – [...]
Day in the life: Racehorse trainer William Knight on auctions, conditioning and the ups and downs of racing November 25, 2018 I’m a public racehorse trainer based on the Angmering Park estate in West Sussex and I train about 50 horses for outside owners – individuals or syndicates, who are involved for both business and pleasure. I see myself as part of the entertainment industry. I am either sent horses to train by owners, or I [...]
Watchdog announces investigation into Crossrail delay November 23, 2018 The National Audit Office (NAO) is set to investigate Crossrail after it was revealed that London’s high profile transport project will be delayed by almost a year, amid rising costs. “Our investigation will examine the causes of the cost increases and schedule delays, the terms of the additional funding, and the governance and oversight of [...]
This government will use free enterprise as a force for good November 20, 2018 Last week, Cabinet Office staff visited a company called Clarity, a soap-making social enterprise established in 1845. In addition to sampling some of the excellent soap they supply to our department, they met the employees who make their products, all of whom have disabilities or long-term health conditions. Clarity is deeply committed to supporting and [...]
Bitcoin falls below $5,000 for first time in 13 months as slump continues November 19, 2018 The value of bitcoin has dropped below $5,000 for the first time in 13 months as the bitcoin cash split continues to weighs heavily on cryptocurrencies. The world's largest cryptocurrency by volume has dropped 13 per cent today to lows of $4,827 , while ripple and ethereum also fell to yearly lows of $0.46 and [...]
Listen up: Sideways 6 helps you hear your staff’s great ideas November 19, 2018 There are lots of reasons you might not be happy with your job. Maybe you don’t like the work itself, or your colleagues? Perhaps the requests of your clients (or your manager) are too demanding? But even if you like your job, it could be that you don’t feel respected – maybe your bosses aren’t [...]
Erdogan: Audio recording of Khashoggi murder is ‘appalling’ November 13, 2018 Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today recordings of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder are "appalling" and shocked the Saudi intelligence officer who listened to them. Erdogan's comments came after he spent the weekend in Paris for Remembrance Day commemorations He discussed the murder of Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate with the US, French and German leaders over [...]