UK house prices: Property price growth has fallen for the third month in a row December 12, 2017 House price growth in the UK dropped again in October, according to official figures, the third month in the row it has fallen. Property prices rose 4.5 per cent in the year to October, down from 4.8 per cent in September and 5.1 per cent in August. On a monthly basis, prices fell 0.5 per [...]
Marc Vlessing, CEO of Pocket Living on his mission to provide affordable compact homes for young Londoners December 8, 2017 Marc Vlessing’s eyes were first opened to millennials’ struggle to get on to the housing ladder when he was working in theatre. As CEO of Crescent Entertainment, which went on to become the largest group of theatres and cinemas in the UK, he was surrounded by passionate, hard-working people in their 20s and 30s, “but [...]
The Bank of England has just given a coded warning about the danger posed by a no-deal Brexit. It’s terrifying November 30, 2017 On Tuesday, the Bank of England released the details of its latest banking industry stress tests. The results made for some soothing sounding headlines – the UK financial system is strong enough to withstand a "disorderly Brexit". In other words, Britain’s banking system can withstand leaving the European Union (EU) without a trade deal. While [...]
14 years of investment returns: history’s lesson for investors November 30, 2017 The stockmarket has provided the best returns among the major asset classes over the last 14 years. But the total profits belie wild fluctuations year by year. Such volatility can cause problems for those who need to draw down money from their investments at certain points of their lives. A sudden drop in the stock [...]
A stroke of genius: How to get a loan by securing against art November 30, 2017 The world was stunned earlier this month when a 500-year-old Leonardo da Vinci painting smashed the world record by fetching $450m at auction. This figure might sound absurd, but understanding the multitude of factors that determine the value of art will remain a mystery to many of us. “Art is very personal,” says Freya [...]
Holiday Homes: A historic, resort in Switzerland has got some of its mojo back after finding a Qatari buyer November 24, 2017 If anywhere epitomised the glamour of Hollywood in its halcyon days, it was Switzerland’s Bürgenstock Resort, nestling 500 metres above Lake Lucerne. Opening the first hotel in 1873, its reputation peaked in the 1950s and 1960s, when luminaries from across the globe were drawn to this secluded mountain retreat. Back then it wouldn’t elicit so [...]
Let’s make London the green finance capital of the world November 15, 2017 The prospect of Brexit threatens to cause serious damage to the UK’s financial services industry. Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin and even Luxembourg are circling like hungry jackals waiting to pick off the weakest members of the herd. London will need to develop a distinctive and competitive offer to investors. I believe we can find it, in [...]
Housebuilder share prices are being pushed lower for the second day: Redrow, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and Berkeley Group drop November 9, 2017 Shares in housebuilders tumbled for the second consecutive day this morning, after a double whammy of bad news from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and housebuilder Redrow spooked investors. On the FTSE 100, Persimmon was the biggest faller, dropping 2.6 per cent, but Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and Berkeley Group all slid lower. On [...]
UK house prices just hit their highest on record (again) November 7, 2017 UK house prices hit their highest on record in October, having grown at their fastest since the beginning of the year. The average UK house price rose to £225,826 in October, up 2.3 per cent in the three months between August and October, their fastest rise since January this year. Year-on-year growth hit 4.5 per [...]
Bank of England raises interest rates for the first time in a decade November 2, 2017 The Bank of England’s top economists today voted to raise its key interest rate, bringing to an end an extraordinary 10-year period without a hike despite internal dissent about its decision. Seven members of the rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC), including governor Mark Carney, voted in favour of a 0.25 percentage point hike in bank [...]