Highest London house prices dip: Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Richmond fall as bottom end gets boost from first-time buyers July 19, 2015 Some of the capital’s most expensive residential areas saw house prices drop sharply this month, according to data released today, with high demand supporting the lower end of the market. In Kensington and Chelsea, London’s most expensive borough to buy in, prices dropped 7.2 per cent from June to July, according to Rightmove. [...]
Eurozone investor sentiment collapses as investors flock to “safe havens” of gold and UK government bonds July 19, 2015 Eurozone shares have had the largest annual decline in sentiment on record, dropping 19 percentage points in just a month. New figures from Lloyds show investors’ sentiment for Eurozone shares have crashed to -48 per cent, down 30 percentage points over the past year. Ashish Misra, head of portfolio specialists at Lloyds, said the drop [...]
China’s unravelling: Will it devalue the yuan next? July 16, 2015 China could be gearing up to join the global currency wars by devaluing the renminbi. So far this year more than 30 central banks from all over the world, including South Korea and Australia, Canada and Hungary have cut interest rates – which works to weaken their currency. Since the global financial crisis, central [...]
London and UK house prices rise: First-time buyers face stiffest competition as average home in capital hits £615,115 July 16, 2015 London house prices climbed 7.8 per cent over the past 12 months, new figures show, with demand outstripping supply most heavily in the first-time buyer market. The average greater London house price is currently £615,115, according to data published today by Rightmove. Properties at the top end of the market have seen the biggest 12-month [...]
Singapore firm builds Galliard with £50m stake July 15, 2015 SINGAPOREAN property developer Oxley Holdings has bought a 20 per cent stake in Galliard Group for £50bn in a bid to expand within London. Oxley, which operates in Singapore, South East Asia, the UK and Ireland, already owns Royal Wharf in east London. It said its stake in Galliard will give it “greater capacity and [...]
Crolla enjoying spoils of concrete attack infamy July 15, 2015 Fighter is latest to turn grisly setback to his favour IT SOUNDS strange but what happened was probably a blessing in disguise.” That is the philosophical outlook of British boxer Anthony Crolla as he reflects on the brutal assault with a concrete slab that left his skull fractured and his career hanging in the balance. [...]
Zoopla accidentally overvalues home located in Stornoway in Lewis by around £13.85m July 15, 2015 A wayward algorithm on online property portal Zoopla accidentally overvalued a home located in Stornoway in Lewis, Scotland to the tune of around £13.85m. Annabel and Dan MacDonald, owners of the semi-detached property which wasn't even up for sale, told the BBC they think its real value is actually closer to £150,000. The hefty price tag would still be [...]
Legal & General exits Egypt in deal with Axa July 13, 2015 UK INSURANCE and investments group Legal & General (L&G) has exited its Egypt business, Commercial International Life Insurance (CIL), selling it to Axa in a deal worth 763m Egyptian pounds (£62.9m). L&G are joint owners of CIL, holding 55 per cent of the company, while Commercial International Bank owned 45 per cent. The sale to Axa is [...]
Ignore the rhetoric: George Osborne’s July Budget was a retreat from market liberalism July 13, 2015 George Osborne’s desired message was clear. He claimed last week’s Budget was a new settlement for a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare country”. The Tory media duly reported it as such. But political rhetoric often doesn’t match reality. Osborne’s Budget fails on his own terms, and marks a retreat from the market-based consensus of [...]
Maine Tower: More apartment hysteria as another residential skyscraper at Canary Wharf sells out in hours July 13, 2015 It turns out those working at Canary Wharf are really keen to kill their commute, after 208 homes at a newly-launched residential tower in the district sold out in four hours – a week after buyers queued around the block to snap up homes at another block. Read more: As first homes go on sale at [...]