What got us talking this week – including the Paris attacks reaction, Black Friday, the Autumn Statement, Cross Boris in Crossrail revelations, Adele’s new album and Eddie Jones November 20, 2015 It was a week where Boris Johnson found a tunnel under his house, we heard petrol could dip under £1 a litre and we asked how financially literate you are. Paris attacks – the reaction While the market's immediate reaction was subdued, the emotional outpouring following the Paris attacks has been palpable – in France, Europe and [...]
FTSE 100 boosted by Fed and ECB policy minutes – London Report November 20, 2015 The London market soared yesterday, pushed higher by stronger than forecast results at Royal Mail and more signals of an interest rate rise from the US. The blue-chip index closed up 0.8 per cent at 6,329.93, its fourth consecutive day of gains. The minutes of the policy-setting Fed committee, released after the close on Wednesday, [...]
Frugal innovation: Doing more with less – the six principles to adopt to innovate faster and cheaper November 20, 2015 Stagnant incomes and greater concern for the environment are making western consumers both more value and values conscious. Equally, ordinary people in the West are increasingly empowered to do with limited resources what only large firms could do in the past. Ubiquitous tools, such as smartphones, cloud computing, 3D printers, crowdfunding, and social media, [...]
NewRiver Retail shares boosted by record 217 per cent jump in profits November 18, 2015 NewRiver Retail said profits leapt by a record 217 per cent in the first half of the year, boosted by a frenzied acquisition spree that saw the retail and pub landlord’s assets under management hit £1bn for the first time. The company, which owns shopping centres including Regents Court in Leamington Spa, reported pre-tax profits [...]
Government promises of “fiscal neutrality” are a red herring: Changes to business rates are going to hurt firms November 18, 2015 Last week, Britain’s biggest high-street retailers publicly urged the government to reform its business rates regime ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement. Many find the current system complicated, unfair to small business and counterproductive to UK growth. Calls for reform have now reached fever-pitch. The government has pledged that any reforms to the current business [...]
Mapped: TfL’s property and land empire ripe for redevelopment – from Tube stations to Thames piers November 18, 2015 Transport for London (TfL) is turning property mogul after identifying 50 locations it will develop into properties for homes and retail over the next decade. Its first planning applications for residential developmets have now been made (at Nine Elms, Northwood and Parsons Green), starting the firing gun on development of the 10m sq ft of [...]
London house prices: TfL files planning applications for its first residential developments at Nine Elms, Northwood and Parsons Green November 18, 2015 Transport for London (TfL) may be best known for signal failures, but London's transport authority also has recently announced plans to branch out into property development. Today it announced where its first developments will be, after it submitted planning applications in Nine Elms, Northwood and Parsons Green. Between them, the three sites will yield more [...]
Best of the Brokers for 18 November 2015 November 18, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com STANDARD CHARTERED Jefferies believes the $17bn revenues implied in Standard Chartered’s 2018 returns on an equity target of eight per cent will be “tough to achieve”, given the ongoing pressure at the bank. Five per cent returns would be more achievable in 2018 [...]
Where can I use Apple Pay in the UK? The A-Z of shops, restaurants and apps which will accept mobile payment with iPhone 6 and 6 Plus November 17, 2015 Apple launched its mobile payment service, Apple Pay, in the UK in its first mobile payment move beyond the US, capitalising on the boom in mobile and contactless payments among consumers. iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users can now pay with just the tap of a smartphone, or Apple Watch, across the high street and [...]
London’s newest skyscraper – Pinnacle replacement 22 Bishopsgate – given go-ahead by City of London planners November 17, 2015 London's saddest skyscraper may yet be set for a happy ending, after a City of London planning committee gave it the thumbs up. The building formerly known as the Pinnacle – aka the "Helter Skelter", thanks to its complex, curly design – has stood half-built since 2008, after the sheer cost of the project brought it [...]