PROPERTY NEWS December 15, 2011 DEMAND FOR PROPERTIES DURING OLYMPICS UPS THE RENTAL BAR Harrods Estates is marketing a number of luxury properties around the Olympic stadium for £40,000 to £80,000 a week – an increase of 220 per cent on their normal rental value. The dearth of properties in close proximity to the Olympic stadium has driven short-term rental [...]
Embrace new technology to get ahead of the competition December 14, 2011 AS WELL as regulatory compliance, insurance companies are being forced to adapt to new and ever shifting consumer demands. Technology is allowing insurers to innovate with products such as pay-as-you-drive insurance models, but also allows them to change the way that they interact with customers. CHANGING BUSINESS MODELS As in banking, it is no longer [...]
Top London house prices rise by £1,200 every day December 13, 2011 PRIME central London prices are still soaring, according to the Knight Frank index, while the Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday revealed mortgage interest rates declined in the third quarter of 2011. Prime prices in central London rose one per cent in November and 12.6 per cent in the last 12 months, taking the average price [...]
FSA could win veto on mega-takeovers December 11, 2011 THE City regulator could be given new powers to veto bank takeovers after the publication today of a controversial report into the collapse of RBS. The recommendation, believed to be included in the 500-page document prepared by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is designed to prevent a repeat of the RBS-led €71bn (£49bn) takeover of [...]
MP triumphs as watchdog is set to publish and be damned December 11, 2011 MORE than a year after the City regulator released a paltry 298-word statement summarising its investigation into RBS, the publication today of a fuller report marks a victory for Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the Treasury select committee. Tyrie led the public outcry when, last December, the Financial Services Authority cited legal reasons and refused [...]
The rugby international who turned business star December 8, 2011 MULTI-TALENTED Sir Bill Gammell played international rugby for Scotland before employing his competitive skills in the business world. The well-connected entrepreneur attended Fettes College in Edinburgh with former Prime Minister Tony Blair before moving on to the University of Stirling, where he obtained a BA in Economics and Accountancy. Gammell’s talents also stretched to the [...]
Helping Scottish rugby on and off field December 8, 2011 TOMORROW we face Doncaster Knights at the Richmond Athletic Ground (3pm kick-off) in what can only be described as a must win encounter. We were very disappointed with the result against Cornish Pirates last weekend. I feel we were on the end of a backlash from the Pirates’ defeat in their previous game, ironically against [...]
PROPERTY NEWS December 8, 2011 CITY IS BOOMING, SAYS REPORT Knight Frank has added the City of London and the City Fringe to its Prime London index, which includes neighbourhoods such as Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington, citing an uplift in the supply of new high end properties, improved amenities and transport. Prices in the square mile have risen by [...]
Kitty cat wins over awful rom com December 8, 2011 Film PUSS IN BOOTS Cert: U After the grouchy cash monster that was the Shrek series, Dreamworks has quite rightly laid the franchise to rest, instead focusing on the series’ most interesting character: a small cat who looks cute but kicks arse. It may well have been a disaster, but thankfully there are enough gags [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 7, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES DUBLIN IS URGED TO SELL NAMA AS A SINGLE ENTITY A secret report into the operations of Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency, the state agency set up to purge Irish banks of their toxic property loans, has recommended that the government should consider selling it off as a single entity. FINANCING PROBLEMS WEIGH [...]