London housing begins to price out businesses July 28, 2013 BUSINESSES warned the government today that rising property prices could undermine investment in the capital, as firms struggle to keep up. According to the statement by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and KPMG, the shortage of housing has risen from companies’ third most pressing concern to their second since December, overtaking transport. The number [...]
Former Goldman Sachs chair to join Department for Education July 28, 2013 FORMER Goldman Sachs Asset Management chairman Jim O’Neill has been drafted in to work alongside Michael Gove as a Department for Education (DfE) non-executive director. O’Neill, who is famed for coining the Bric term for developing nations Brazil, Russia, India and China, will take up the post in September, the department stated last night. The [...]
UBS settles loan case as earnings soar 62 per cent July 22, 2013 SWISS bank UBS is paying SFr700m (£487m) to settle claims it overstated the quality of loans in the run up to the financial crisis, the lender announced yesterday. US regulators brought the case after complaints from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who claim they were misled by 18 institutions into buying bad debts without realising [...]
Sport Comment: Sir Chris? Save the honours for when our sporting heroes retire July 21, 2013 A RISE Sir Andy Murray. Sir Chris Froome. Sir Alastair Cook. It was almost arise Sir Lee Westwood but for a masterful final round from Phil Mickelson at the Open yesterday. It’s going to be a busy time for the sporting honours committee when they sit down and ponder handing out the gongs in the [...]
The changing skyline of Aldgate June 4, 2013 Aldgate is fast becoming a hub for mixed-use developments offering the best in modern living. Naomi Mdudu investigates. The east end isn’t the only area under major regeneration. Aldgate, which lies within the City Fringe, a transitional area between the financial district and east London proper, is quickly becoming a prime residential spot and is [...]
There are still many lessons to learn from the financial crisis April 13, 2013 MANY of us still remember vividly the events of 19 March 2008, when HBOS’s share price suddenly collapsed early in the morning, triggering intense interest in newsrooms and trading floors, and prompting the bank and the authorities to issue almost unprecedented denials. Laughably, HBOS claimed that it had “an exceptionally strong balance sheet.” The episode [...]
Fed comments soothe jitters on Wall Street February 26, 2013 NEW YORK REPORT US stocks rebounded from their worst decline since November yesterday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed’s bond-buying stimulus and sales of new homes hit a four and a half year high. The S&P 500 had climbed six per cent for the year and came within reach of all-time highs [...]
UK share boost is tempered by Italian election February 25, 2013 LONDON REPORT UK shares shed all of their early gains yesterday as projected Italian election results suggested a clear-cut winner was unlikely to emerge, diminishing the prospects for a stable government. Early exit polls suggesting a healthy lead for a centre-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani in both houses of parliament were confounded by [...]
Knight Capital to sell brokerage February 24, 2013 Knight Capital Group, which recently agreed to be bought for $1.4bn (£928m) by Getco Holding Co, has struck a deal to sell its credit-brokerage unit to Stifel Financial, according to a person familiar with the matter. The terms of the deal were not known. But Stifel will be picking up investment-grade, high-yield, asset-backed and mortgage [...]
Sorry savers: More easing is still needed to support UK recovery February 21, 2013 THE Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) minutes of its meeting on 20 February make some very interesting reading. They suggest that the Committee is ready to adopt a more flexible approach to policy-making. And of particular interest is that, for an unprecedented fifth time, governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King voted in the [...]