British businesses say they are losing out thanks to our failure to build enough new homes November 7, 2016 The failure to build homes is hurting the ability of British businesses to recruit and retain staff, according to the CBI, who are calling for a dramatic shift in housebuilding policy Last summer, the government unveiled a prominent goal of building 1m new homes by 2020, but the CBI today warned the government is at [...]
It’s now easier to buy a home in New York than it is in London November 5, 2016 London's housing market was once the poor relation of New York's, but rapid house price growth in the UK capital has made it more unaffordable than its American rival. In July this year, the average house price in London was £484,176 as compared to £411,018 in New York, making the Big Apple a more accessible market. [...]
Bank of England keeps interest rates flat – but says there are limits to how much above-target inflation can be tolerated November 3, 2016 The Bank of England kept interest rates flat as it revealed ramped-up forecasts on inflation and growth today. But the the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which met yesterday and voted unanimously to keep rates at 0.25 per cent, has indicated “there are limits to the extent to which above-target inflation can be tolerated”. The increased [...]
As the typical UK house price rises to six times annual earnings, should young people forget about ever buying? November 2, 2016 Ben Southwood, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Unless something changes, few of today’s youth will ever own their own homes – there is simply not enough housing to go round. Home ownership has been falling, generation by generation. When they were 45, around 80 per cent of the cohort born in [...]
Southampton could become the next Premier League club to be taken over by Chinese investors November 2, 2016 Southampton could become the latest English club to come under Chinese ownership after they were linked with a £200m takeover by Lander Sports Development. Saints owner Katharina Liebherr has met with Lander, according to Bloomberg, although an agreement has yet to be completed. Formerly called Lander Real Estate, the property development specialists changed their name [...]
Tim Martin says European leaders are determined to put Britain’s consumption of German beer, French champagne and Swedish cider under threat November 2, 2016 The founder of pub giant Wetherspoon this morning slammed the "unelected" EU chief as well as the supporting leaders of Germany and France. Staunch Brexiter Tim Martin, who is chairman of the pub chain, hit out at EU leaders saying that they were determined to hurt the UK. Martin was active campaigning for Britain to leave the EU and signed [...]
Abolishing these 20 taxes will help the poor, says the IEA November 2, 2016 A radical free-market Westminster think thank is claiming it can maintain welfare support and improve the lot of the low-income workers while scrapping nearly every mainstream tax that the government currently imposes. The Institute of Economic Affairs says the controversial plan would see the poorest 10 per cent of the UK enjoying tax cuts worth [...]
UK house prices were flat in October November 2, 2016 House prices were flat in October, as the housing market struggled to regain the momentum it lost following the EU referendum. According to data from Nationwide, there was no house price growth month-on-month in October. House prices increased 4.6 per cent year-on-year, down from an annual growth of 5.3 per cent in September. Read more: [...]
Investors pull more money from UK equities in September November 1, 2016 Investors continued to draw money out of the UK in September, new figures out today show. Net retail fund sales tracked by the Investment Association during the month totalled £664m overall, down from £1.7bn in August, with total funds under management coming in at £1 trillion. Investors continued to pull money from UK equities, with [...]
Theresa May’s industrial strategy isn’t about picking winners – but taking control of Britain’s economic destiny post-Brexit November 1, 2016 Purists likely shuddered at Theresa May’s commitment to a “proper, modern industrial strategy” as she reshaped the Business Department in July. Three decades of free market orthodoxy have convinced many business folk that a fully-fledged plan for industry represents a throwback to the 1970s, a decade when sickly British Leyland came to symbolise all that [...]