House prices back on upward march to race past £667,000 in London January 16, 2023 House prices are back on an upward march, sending the cost of the average home in London to over £667,000, a new survey out today shows. Search site Rightmove said today house prices in the capital jumped 0.2 per cent over the last month and 6.1 per cent annually. On a nationwide basis, prices climbed [...]
Direct Line chief rushes to calm investors after shares collapse January 15, 2023 Direct Line’s share price “doesn’t reflect the intrinsic value of the company,” the insurer’s chief executive Penny James has said, after shares in the firm plummeted last week. In an interview with The Times, James instead said Direct Line still has “huge earnings potential” as she said she feels “very positive about the future prospects”. [...]
Where to celebrate Burns Night in London: Bars and restaurants serving haggis and drams January 13, 2023 Burns Night, the birthday of the great Scottish bard Robert Burns is one of the highlights of the London restaurant scene, with venues across the capital laying on special spreads and keeping the city’s bagpipe community in work. Expect a lots of readings of the tongue-twisting Address to a Haggis as well as the consumption [...]
Persimmon warns of sales slide as interest rate rises push up the cost of mortgages January 12, 2023 Persimmon achieved sales at the top end of its 2022 guidance, despite the mortgage crisis and the wider economic downturn in the second half of the year. The York headquartered company, one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, sold 14,868 new homes last year a rise of two per cent compared to 14,551 in 2021. The [...]
Global cost-of-living crisis risks ‘dire consequences’ for planet as firms ditch climate concerns January 11, 2023 The global cost-of-living crisis threatens to railroad efforts to combat climate change, “potentially leading to dire planetary and societal consequences,” the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned today. Soaring energy and food prices are forcing governments and private businesses to turn to cheaper, often dirtier resources to produce goods and services. As a result, “the risks [...]
Can British bullishness tackle one of the globe’s biggest climate problems? January 11, 2023 It’s not a myth. Climate change is here and it’s happening — it’s not just happening in David Attenborough documentaries. The effects of climate change are measured and proven — ice caps melting, rainy seasons are getting shorter, vegetation is drying out and dying, more cloud cover, record heat temperatures, the weather is becoming more [...]
The pandemic’s lasting impact is huge… How can the little idea of recycling help? January 11, 2023 The pandemic’s lasting impact is huge… How can the little idea of recycling help? For the past 2 years, it’s been one thing after another: Covid lockdowns, more Covid lockdowns, Russia invading Ukraine, and a few more Covid lockdowns (looking at you China). Therefore, it comes as no surprise the global economy continues to take [...]
Aluminium’s dirty secret: We’re gonna need a LOT of it, and it’s pumping out a LOT of CO2. January 11, 2023 It sounds stupid, but materials have to come from somewhere. And once we’re done with those materials, they have to go somewhere… Following? Yes, you are. But don’t dismiss this concept as trite. As global populations are predicted to increase by 2 billion (!) by 2050, growing demand for commodities will place further strain on [...]
Barratt: Rising mortgage costs could hit its profits as house prices slide January 11, 2023 Barratt Developments said the outlook for 2023 was ‘uncertain’ as rising mortgage costs force residential property sales down. The FTSE 100 listed house builder said demand for its homes in 2023 looks “uncertain” due to prospective home buyers shunning big ticket purchases amid a cost of living and mortgage affordability squeeze. Mortgage costs have been [...]
Why Manchester United sale could fetch the Glazer family even more than their £6bn asking price – despite Cristiano Ronaldo exit January 11, 2023 The Glazer family’s hopes of achieving a record valuation for the sale of Manchester United have increased after the football club’s share price reached a four-year high. Some analysts believe it could push the price of a takeover towards $10bn (£8.2bn), in excess of the American owners’ original $7bn (£5.8bn) asking price. United’s share price [...]