Budget 2015 vs Budget 2010: What are the vote-winners? March 17, 2015 It’s almost budget day in election year, the time for the Conservatives to dangle a few carrots and warn of a few essential sticks to come. But how different it this year’s budget to the Labour party’s swansong back in 2010? There are a few key differences and some glaring similarities. Tax evasion Osborne’s last [...]
Nintendo will bring Super Mario to smartphones in deal with DeNA March 17, 2015 Power up your smartphone, because Super Mario is coming. Nintendo is teaming up with Tokyo-based mobile gaming and e-commerce company DeNA to develop new game apps for smart devices featuring the brand’s iconic characters. The agreement marks the first time that Nintendo – notoriously protective of its intellectual property – has allowed [...]
George Osborne likes to think the unthinkable: Now he should abolish the Budget March 16, 2015 It’s a well-known saying that “turkeys don’t vote for Christmas”. So calling for George Osborne to take to the despatch box tomorrow and announce that he’s abolishing future Budgets – in turn, greatly diminishing the Treasury’s power – might seem a fanciful plea. In truth, it’s about as likely as Ed Miliband offering journalists the [...]
Willis Tower: Blackstone makes iconic Chicago skyscraper most expensive US office building outside of New York March 16, 2015 Private equity group Blackstone will buy Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower for $1.3bn, the most ever paid for a US office building outside New York. The tower, which at 1,450ft is the 12th-tallest building in the world, is a lucrative tourist attraction thanks to its Skydeck observation floor. Blackstone, normally known for buying distressed [...]
Alliance Trust bosses unnerved after activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors calls for a board shake-up March 16, 2015 A bitter row is erupting between FTSE 100 investment group Alliance Trust and its biggest shareholder, the activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors. Elliott is today pushing to add three new non-executives to the board of Alliance, in a move that will pile the pressure on the firm’s chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox. “They’re not calling for [...]
Slowdown at top and bottom of market hits London house prices March 16, 2015 London property prices fell from February to March, figures released today show. New seller asking prices dropped by 0.4 per cent according to online property market Rightmove. It is the first time in three years that prices have retreated in March. High-end property values saw their asking prices trimmed by 2.6 per cent. Demand [...]
London will only solve its housing crisis if we face up to Green Belt myths March 15, 2015 London has been the most successful global city in the last quarter century. The brightest young people wish to live here, and it is a world leader in countless fields – professional and financial services, higher education, culture and sport among others. London’s population growth is a direct result of its success. But unless this [...]
Lloyds to bank £1.5bn if TSB sale to Banco Sabadell goes ahead March 12, 2015 Lloyds is set to receive a final total of £1.5bn for TSB if the Banco Sabadell sale goes ahead – twice the £750m for which it had previously agreed to sell the lender to the Co-op Bank. The giant bank was forced to sell off TSB under the terms of its 2008 bailout. The [...]
Mayor of Kiev fights for new city investors March 12, 2015 WITH the usual enormous Russian pavilion conspicuous by its absence at this year’s Mipim property bash, Russians have all but deserted the event this year. But their Ukrainian neighbour has arrived in force, with Kiev mayor and former world champion boxer Vitali Klitschko flying in to persuade people to invest in the country’s capital. Klitschko [...]
Morrisons could cut dividend as earnings slump March 12, 2015 THE DAUNTING task facing the new boss of Morrisons was illustrated on yesterday when UK’s fourth biggest supermarket reported its lowest annual profit in eight years and warned investors it would cut its dividend. The profit slump, a third straight decline, reflects Morrisons’ decision last year to spend £1bn on price cuts over three years [...]