Focus On Canning Town: For affordability and an easy commute to Canary Wharf, the only way is E16 March 17, 2016 East London’s post-industrial landscape is rapidly disappearing in favour of quirky cultural venues, artfully rustic cafes and glassy residential towers. While the investment potential in Hackney and Tower Hamlets has been well-documented, other locations that are just as accessible have managed to slip under the radar. One of these is Canning Town, a part of [...]
London’s Air Ambulance lands on College Green in Parliament Square after bus collision injures woman cyclist March 17, 2016 London's air ambulance has been called to Parliament Square after a serious collision involving a bus occurred during rush hour this morning. Witnesses posted pictures of the emergency responders arriving at the scene, with the helicopter landing on College Green, outside the Houses of Parliament. Serious incident in #ParliamentSquare pic.twitter.com/5Ui61RwMAo — Martin Paige (@MysticMartin) March 17, 2016 [...]
Buy-to-let tax changes: A perfect storm for landlords and tenants March 11, 2016 Upcoming tax changes have ignited debate about the role private landlords should play in meeting the UK’s housing needs. Focus has fallen on buy-to-let but, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, among others, has noted, landlords are taxed much less favourably than home owners. Following last year’s Autumn Statement, which outlined plans for an additional [...]
The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund had its worst year since 2011 last year, but managed to avoid negative returns March 9, 2016 The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund has returned 2.7 per cent on its investments in 2015 thanks to a rally in equities late in the year. The low oil price and slowing emerging markets dragged on returns however, meaning the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund recorded its weakest performance since 2011. The oil fund, managed by [...]
G4S’s share price plummets as turnaround weighed down by surge in asylum seekers March 9, 2016 G4S' share price fell this morning after posting a drop in full year revenues and profit, after the outsourcer everyone loves to hate revealed restructuring costs and write-downs on onerous contracts relating to asylum seekers, as well as soaring debt. The figures Revenues on an actual basis fell 3.7 per cent from £6.89bn to £6.86bn in 2015, while profit [...]
Woodford backed telecoms vehicle poaches Goldman banker as it posts maiden dividend March 9, 2016 Telecoms takeover vehicle Zegona, set up last year by two former Virgin Media executives and backed by investor Neil Woodford, has poached Goldman Sachs banker Menno Kremer to grow its business across Europe. The ex-Virgin pair, former chief financial officer Eamonn O’Hare and ex-chief operating officer Robert Samuelson, tempted Kremer away from the bank with promises [...]
I See You review: A tense exploration of identity, race and language in post-apartheid South Africa March 8, 2016 Royal Court | ★★★☆☆ Language is all tangled up in history and identity, a thick linguistic rope wound tight around an ancestral flagpole. Set in post-apartheid South Africa, I See You considers what happens when that rope breaks and a language is lost, and asks whether it’s what you speak, rather than what you say, [...]
Sunday trading hours: Why the campaign against changes to the law by industry groups and Tory MPs is utterly bonkers March 7, 2016 I am confused, bemused and somewhat irritated by the constant threats from MPs, trading bodies and groups around the country to derail the government’s plans to relax the Sunday trading laws. Creating barriers to trade is out-dated and puts the UK at risk. More than 20 Tory Ministers and MPs have threatened to block the plans before [...]
As Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch walk down the aisle, we sum up weddings in numbers: from venue costs and gift lists to tax tips for married couples and engagement ring costs March 4, 2016 Love is in the air, especially if you're in London. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and supermodel Jerry Hall have, according to various reports, tied the knot today at Spencer House. The two seem like a financially-savvy pair so we're sure they'd appreciate knowing these numbers behind weddings: 1. Friends and family thinking about their budget for [...]
New Investigatory Powers Bill could cast out legal privilege if laws are not carefully scrutinised, barristers and solicitors warn March 3, 2016 The most recent iteration of the Investigatory Powers Bill may not protect a fundamental right of the legal profession as well as government hopes, legal experts have warned today. Speaking on behalf of the Bar Council, Peter Carter, chair of the Bar Council Surveillance and Privacy Working Group, scoffed at claims that legal privilege was now safely [...]