EU migrant crisis: Accepting more refugees is not just the right thing to do – it’d be good for us too September 3, 2015 Most people think that we have a duty to help refugees fleeing totalitarianism or war, wherever they come from. Our sense of duty, however, is tempered by concerns that taking too many refugees will harm us, or that some are merely economic migrants. But these costs are overstated. Though, in general, the evidence [...]
UK house prices: Why buyer activity, proximity to Chrismas and the end of school holidays mean today’s the best day to sell your home September 3, 2015 If you're planning on putting your property on the market, get going – because research suggests today, aka 2 September, is the best day of the year to sell your home. According to online estate agent Emoov. now schools have gone back, prospective buyers' minds are turning to the great property search. The research found [...]
Market carnage: The funds that survived August’s global sell-off September 3, 2015 Traditional safe havens such as bond funds and gold were the best places to invest during August’s market carnage. Fears over slowing global growth and the potential for a wave of deflation to emanate out of China have pushed investors into areas which some commentators had recently been decrying as worthless investments – such [...]
China ripples add to overseas property costs September 2, 2015 City A.M. billed it as ‘Shanghai Shockwave’ and that summed up the wider impact of China’s great sell-off. Stock markets tumbled the world over and mainstream newspapers conveyed public concerns over pensions and investments. The currency market was also rocked. The pound weakened sharply against the euro as expectations of a Bank of England [...]
2016 London mayoral election: Bypassing bureaucrats is the key to fixing London’s housing crisis September 2, 2015 How would you feel if a property developer wanted to knock down the 1960s council estate next door and replace it with a shiny, new and modern estate with more homes? On the one hand, you will eventually wake up each morning to a rather nicer view (although any chance of seeing the Shard [...]
London house prices: Former Mayfair garage becomes world’s most expensive mews house after £24m sale September 2, 2015 A former garage in Mayfair which once housed 1920s sports cars has smashed the record for the world’s most expensive mews house after being sold for £24m. The four-storey property, known as 43 Reeves Mews, dates back to 1734 when it once served as stable quarters housing servants and groomsmen of the super-rich residents of Grosvenor [...]
Best of the Brokers for 2 September 2015 September 2, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com GLENCORE Canaccord Genuity has upgraded its recommendation for Glencore from “hold” to “buy” following the miner’s recent interim results. It has lowered its target price to 220p from 260p previously. The broker said it is also confident that Glencore can sustain its full-year [...]
Mortgage lending increases on low interest rates and rising UK house prices September 2, 2015 The housing market is picking up, with homeowners looking to remortgage to take advantage of low interest rates and unlock some of the climb in property prices. The number of approvals for home purchases was 68,764 in July, compared with an average of 64,186 over the past six months. Approvals for remortgages were 38,042, also [...]
Chinese financial crisis 2015: Is there cause to be upbeat about China at the moment? September 1, 2015 Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, says Yes The collapse of China’s equity bubble doesn’t matter. One in 30 people in China owns shares, foreign ownership is tiny, and the implosion tells us nothing about economic trends. Focus on the economic data and the picture is not that bad. Property and heavy industry [...]
Crazy markets, Night Tube called off and Jeremy Corbyn goes off the rails: Here’s what got us talking this week August 28, 2015 It was the week in which everything got a bit trippy: the markets went bananas. The South Bank went psychedelic. Someone discovered a Nazi train full of gold (allegedly). And after 60 years of rivalry, Burger King finally proposed a truce with McDonald's… What got us talking 1. Up, down, up, down… Who said August was [...]