Simplify planning laws and Garden Cities could solve our housing crisis June 19, 2013 BRITAIN’s planning regulations are a lawyers’ banquet. A tangled web of 118 Acts of Parliament govern them and, while the legal profession and a new breed of lobbyists known as “planning consultants” may prosper from this quagmire, the economy suffers. This is the theme of a new policy report on Britain’s antiquated planning regime I [...]
Russian and Kazakh firms set for relegation from FTSE 100 | City A.M. June 10, 2013 ALL THE Russian and Kazakhstan-based firms listed on the London Stock Exchange are expected to leave the top FTSE 100 index in the coming months in a stunning reversal from the tide of eastern giants entering the blue chip London market in recent years. Mining firms Polymetal and Evraz are widely expected to fall out [...]
Five myths about Margaret Thatcher that must be refuted April 14, 2013 FAR too much nonsense is being spoken about Lady Thatcher’s time in office. Here is my take on five key myths. MYTH 1: POPULARITY Thatcher won 43.9 per cent of the vote in 1979, 42.4 per cent per cent in 1983 and 42.2 per cent per cent in 1987, landslide results that contemporary politicians can [...]
Thatcher saved UK from slow decline April 12, 2013 When Margaret Thatcher won the 1979 election, Britain was a country on its knees, a discredited, impoverished post-imperial nation in seemingly terminal decline, with ruthless union bosses imposing their will on a gutless establishment, cripplingly high inflation, a tax regime that forbade entrepreneurship and ambition, and an antiquated class system still in full sway. Dozens [...]
UK branches of Cypriot banks reassure savers March 29, 2013 CYPRIOT banks with British operations reassured customers yesterday that their deposits were safe, with at least some savings covered under guarantee schemes. The Bank of Cyprus UK, which has three branches in London and another in Birmingham, said there would be “no effect on deposits” for its UK account holders, describing itself as a “separately [...]
London is most expensive place for finance firms March 13, 2013 TAXES and fees are making London by far the most expensive location in the world to set up a financial firm, according to figures released this morning. Looking at rents alone, Hong Kong tops the table of world cities for locating a company in the financial sector, Savills said, but including the impact of fees [...]
New chair for Kazakhmys as earnings drop March 2, 2013 LONDON-LISTED Kazakh miner Kazakhmys posted a more than 30 per cent drop in 2012 core profit yesterday, excluding the impact of its share in rival ENRC, as weak prices hit revenue and failed to offset rising costs. The miner, which owns 26 per cent of rival ENRC, also said it might have to write down [...]
Growth fears push Wall St down again February 22, 2013 NEW YORK REPORT US stocks fell for a second straight day yesterday and the S&P 500 posted its worst two-day loss since November after reports cast doubt over the health of the US and Eurozone economies. But a late-day rally helped stocks erase some of their losses with most of the pullback concentrated in the [...]
New York Report: M&A activity lift shares near record levels February 19, 2013 US STOCKS rose yesterday as this year’s ongoing surge in merger activity suggested investors were still finding value in the market even as indexes closed in on all-time highs. Office Depot Inc surged 9.4 per cent to $5.02 after a person familiar with the matter said the number two US office supply retailer was in [...]
Orders soar as margins grow at Rolls-Royce February 14, 2013 ENGINEERING giant Rolls-Royce was the biggest blue-chip riser yesterday after it posted a 23.5 per cent rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £1.43bn. Rolls-Royce’s order book grew four per cent to £60.15bn last year, and revenues excluding currency changes rose eight per cent to £12.2bn. The gains mark Rolls-Royce’s tenth straight year of profit growth. [...]