The Help to Buy Isa for first-time buyers launches today: Here’s everything you need to know, including which banks and building societies will provide it and how much you can borrow December 1, 2015 It was now many moons ago that George Osborne introduced the Help to Buy Isa (Help to Buy-sa to its friends), which will give savers £50 for every £200 they save, up to £12,000. Nine months after it was first announced, the scheme is finally ready to be unveiled, with the launch slated for today. In other words: first-time [...]
Lord Lamont talks Osborne, Varoufakis and the EU referendum December 1, 2015 One wouldn't normally expect a former Conservative chancellor to agree with a controversial left wing ex-finance minister, but Lord Norman Lamont robustly defends his friend Yanis Varoufakis. “Varoufakis was disputing the rules of the European Union, rather than what they had discretion over, whereas the EU was responding by saying these are the rules; you [...]
Deficit bias: The chancellor’s fiscal strategy has worrying shades of Gordon Brown November 30, 2015 At the Autumn Statement 2011, the chancellor bore bad news. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had revised down the growth prospects of the UK economy, and revised up how much of the public deficit would not naturally fall as the economy recovered. George Osborne therefore faced a choice: to cut spending or raise [...]
Insurance losses now valued at AUS$75m following catastrophic wildfires in South Australia November 30, 2015 Bushfires in South Australia have generated insured losses of AUS$75m (£36m) as of today. According to figures from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), 525 claims have been made so far, and the value of the loss is expected to increase significantly as assessors continue to investigate claims over the coming days. The wildfires broke [...]
Top tips for first-time buyers in London November 30, 2015 Getting on the property ladder is hard work, especially if you’re looking to buy your first home in London. According to Savills, the average deposit for a first time buyer is currently 68 per cent of their household income, but that rises to 177 per cent in London. But with a couple of helpful announcements [...]
India’s economic growth rate accelerates to 7.4 per cent November 30, 2015 India's economy grew 7.4 per cent between July and September compared with the same three months in 2014, according to official figures released today. Economic growth in the country is picking up after growing seven per cent year-on-year between April and June. Manufacturing growth accelerated to 9.3 per cent, faster than the 7.9 per cent registered last year.The [...]
Chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Sajid Javid vow to boost competition in 11 sectors including banking, broadband and energy November 30, 2015 British families could save £470 a year thanks to a new government plan to boost market competition, chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Sajid Javid have said. In a joint announcement today, Osborne and Javid will reveal a new, 25-page document intended to create more competitive business conditions – something they say will bring down [...]
Watch out on the first day of the month: 1 December is the date during the festive season when most accidents happen November 29, 2015 You better watch out but you might want to cry: 1 December is the date in the festive season when Brits are most likely to suffer an accident at home. According to figures from Allianz Insurance, almost double the number of households report having an accident on this day compared to the average for the [...]
COP21 Paris climate summit: “Climate responsibility” will not come for free November 28, 2015 If you expect the 21st UN Climate Summit to deliver an ambitious and globally binding climate agreement, prepare to be disappointed. In research done by Simon Herr at the the School of Economics and Political Science at the University of St Gallen, it is shown that previous summits such as Copenhagen in 2009 failed for [...]
Bridge of Spies, Carol and The Good Dinosaur: This weekend’s new film releases reviewed November 27, 2015 Bridge of Spies (12A): Dir: Steven Spielberg ★★★★☆ Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks for the fourth time, in the true(ish) story of an insurance lawyer (Hanks) forced to defend a Russian spy (Mark Rylance) caught in New York at the height of the Cold War. His belief that every man deserves a fair trial makes [...]