Building the next five years in alternative finance: How marketplace lending is becoming part of industry furniture July 15, 2015 When we look back, 2015-16 will be seen as the watershed moment: when peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and crowdfunding made the big time, transitioning from quirky innovation to a respected alternative source of finance and investment opportunities. The government has clearly been persuaded of the potential benefits of so-called alternative finance – especially as a [...]
Economists vote to wait on rate hike July 8, 2015 City A.M.’s panel of economists voted eight to one in favour of holding interest rates at their record low of 0.5 per cent this month. Strong wage growth was viewed as a sign that inflation was likely to creep back up towards its two per cent target was likely later this year. Inflation rose to [...]
Sharing cities have come to the UK – and London will be next June 11, 2015 If you're a Londoner, it’s pretty likely that you will have used a sharing economy business. From driving a Zipcar or hiring a local Hassle.com cleaner, to staying in Love Home Swap apartments around the world, we are increasingly confident using sharing economy services. But there are cities around the world – Amsterdam, Seoul and [...]
Summer transfer targets: Who Arsenal and Manchester United need to buy in the window May 17, 2015 Arsenal and Manchester United showed yesterday that they both need strengthening if they are to truly challenge Chelsea next season, but the two clubs will have to take fundamentally different approaches. For the Gunners, summer business ought to focus on making one or two high-class additions in certain key positions to improve what is [...]
General Election 2015: Uncertainty hangs over UK mortgage lending data April 14, 2015 The uncertainty surrounding the General Election hit mortgages in February, as lending dropped, with the total number of loans falling one per cent on January’s figure and 16 per cent compared to last year. The figures According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML),a total of 40,600 loans valued at £6.8bn were granted in February, meaning the [...]
Easter snow: A comprehensive guide to the best places to bag a late skiing holiday March 22, 2015 FAMILY FRIENDLY Watching Franz Klammer skiing on the edge of disaster at the 1976 Winter Olympics is not for the faint-hearted. His gold medal-winning run at Innsbruck looked sure to end in catastrophe on several turns. How do you learn to ski like that? According to Klammer – who insists he was perfectly in control [...]
From the solar eclipse and the Budget to the FTSE 100 hitting 7,000: Here’s what got us talking this week March 20, 2015 There was a solar eclipse and toxic smog. There was a red box. And there was a lesser-spotted yellow box. Here's what got us talking this week. 1. The FTSE 100 hit 7,000 for the first time After what felt like weeks of playing hard to get, the FTSE 100 finally gave it [...]
Next share price falls after it cautions over year ahead March 19, 2015 The figures Next said that total sales for the year to the end of January rose seven per cent to £4bn, up from £3.7bn a year earlier. Pre-tax profit jumped 12.5 per cent to £782.2m, up from £695.2m a year earlier. This was at the upper end of expectations set in December which forecast full-year pre-tax [...]
Small beer Budget: George Osborne deserves credit for holding back on the bribery March 18, 2015 We should “choose the future” George Osborne insisted yesterday, in what may yet turn out to be his final Budget. But in truth, he spent much of his time focusing on the recent past. Employment has been buoyant and now stands at a record high. Those who predicted that spending constraint would lead to an [...]
Bijou skiing on a budget: Saint Martin de Belleville March 15, 2015 You can’t beat this intimate 14th century village for convenience and scenery. Saint Martin de Belleville is the most civilized way to access the Three Valleys without having to re-mortgage your dacha. It’s aptly named; villes don’t get much more belle than this. The town square boasts a church built in the 14th century facing [...]