Opinion: Why we must remember that Mark Carney’s warnings about house prices are a worst case scenario October 18, 2018 Mark Carney made headlines, and plenty of waves, with his comments on the possible effect of a no-deal Brexit on house prices. He said that they could fall by a third if we failed to strike a deal with the EU. Certainly, you would have to say that the governor of the Bank of England [...]
Blame the bank: How finance caused today’s housing crisis October 18, 2018 Home ownership is increasingly out of the reach of younger adults in the UK. The share of those aged 25-34 who own their home fell from 55 per cent in 1997 to 35 per cent in 2017, according the Institute of Fiscal Studies. A decade of stagnant wage growth means that the gradual house price [...]
New Look confirms China exit plans October 18, 2018 Fashion chain New Look confirmed today that it was planning on pulling the plug on its operation in China. The company said it has been gradually reducing its number of stores and now intends to close its remaining 120 stores in the country by the end of December 2018. Its Shanghai head office will close [...]
Canelo Alvarez: Boxer’s record-breaking $365m deal with DAZN highlights rise to prominence of both October 17, 2018 Every now and then a commercial deal comes along that doesn’t just reflect the shifting sands of the sports landscape, it magnifies them, turning the protagonists into even bigger names in the process. Paris Saint-Germain’s €222m signing of Neymar last year, which didn’t so much break football’s transfer record as smash it to smithereens, was [...]
New homes: Here are the new developments going on sale in London this week October 17, 2018 New developments on the market this week Weavers Quarter, Barking From £78,750 for a 30 per cent share (fmv £262,500) First time buyers can part-buy, part-rent new homes in east London. A show apartment is open for prospective buyers to view who wish to take advantage of the Shared Ownership scheme, where people buy a [...]
London house prices dip as growth slows to five-year low October 17, 2018 House prices growth in August dropped to its slowest annual rate in more than five years, as London's subdued housing market dragged down average property prices. New Office for National Statistics (ONS) data out today show house prices climbed 3.2 per cent in the year to August, marking the slowest pace of growth since August 2013. [...]
Economist Hernando de Soto: ‘Our systems of representation are broken’ October 17, 2018 Hernando de Soto has dedicated much of his life to trying to help the world's poorest countries develop to the level of advanced economies, but now he is wondering if Western nations need to re-examine how we think about government. De Soto is one of the world’s most prominent development economists, thanks to the central [...]
Canary Wharf’s Citigroup skyscraper goes up for £1.2bn sale October 16, 2018 London's iconic Citigroup tower is being put up for sale for roughly £1.2bn, in a sign that the capital’s buoyant commercial property market shows no sign of slowing down. Sources confirmed to City A.M. tonight that AGC Equity Partners is putting the skyscraper at 25 Canada Square on the market five years after it bought [...]
FTSE housebuilder Bellway cements position with rising profits but caution lingers October 16, 2018 Housebuilder Bellway sent mixed messages to the City this morning, as a rise in profit coincided with a cautious warning over Brexit. Pre-tax profits climbed 14 per cent to £641m over the last 12 months, as robust annual sales pushed the firm above the 10,000 homes mark for the first time. Revenues also jumped 15.6 [...]
UK M&A regime changes ‘too radical’, says former Office of Fair Trading boss John Fingleton October 16, 2018 The former head of the Office of Fair Trading (Oft) John Fingleton has slammed the government's "radical" merger and acquisitions (M&A) proposals. Fingleton, who was chief executive of the now closed government body between 2005 and 2012, said the revamp would create regulatory bureaucracy, put off foreign investment and be too influenced by politics. Read [...]