London house prices: Unseasonable heat in the capital’s housing market January 19, 2015 After a muted end to 2014, London house prices grew 0.9 per cent in January, compared to just 0.2 per cent in the first month of 2014. 10 of the 32 boroughs surveyed by Rightmove reported asking prices having dropped in January, with the positive score for the region pushed up by some top performers. [...]
UK house prices rise unexpectedly: Stamp duty to the rescue? January 19, 2015 Are these the first signs of a bounce back in the property market? Data from Rightmove, a property portal, has shown that average asking prices have risen by 1.4 per cent in January. This may not sound like a huge leap back to the heady heights of last summer, but January is not traditionally a [...]
China GDP growth falls to its lowest since 1990 January 19, 2015 After years of double-figure growth, China's GDP growth fell to its slowest in 24 years in 2014, according to figures published overnight. Growth in the country fell to 7.4 per cent last year, its slowest pace since 1990, down from two consecutive years of 7.7 per cent growth. While it was the first time it's [...]
Rangers considers two shareholder offers and could use Ibrox stadium as security January 19, 2015 The board of Rangers football club is considering two offers from existing shareholders to help rescue the Scottish club from financial difficulties. The club has also admitted that its stadium, Ibrox, could potentially be used as security on any financing, despite previously insisting it would not be used on a loan. “At the current time [...]
London house prices still marching upward January 18, 2015 LONDON house prices are 0.9 per cent higher this month than in December. The price of a residential property in Greater London increased by £5,314 on the month, figures released today by online market Rightmove reveal. There was a large disparity between the monthly price change in outer London – where prices dipped 0.5 per [...]
Opec is dead: The oil war could crown America as the global swing producer January 18, 2015 I well remember suffering through my college macroeconomic class, steeling myself to stay awake through the consumption of gallons of coffee. However, one of the rare things that piqued my interest was the theory of cartels. Properly defined, an efficient cartel possesses three basic properties: the ironclad discipline of its membership; a commanding market position; [...]
Swiss franc crisis: Swiss go nuts for central London property as “safe haven effect” takes hold January 16, 2015 A fund which invests in central London property has reported an upsurge in the number of Swiss clients making enquiries. The London Central Portfolio (LCP), a residential fund and asset manager, said there had been a jump in the number of enquiries from Swiss-based investors looking to move their money into London real estate in [...]
BlackRock’s poor performance fails to dampen flow of cash January 15, 2015 The world’s biggest money manager BlackRock saw performance fees plummet by almost half last quarter after its alternative investments stumbled. The group added another $87.8bn of cash from customers over the quarter ending December but revenue from its funds which outperform the stock market fell to $144m from $268m compared to the same period last [...]
Bovis Homes is upbeat despite cooling market January 15, 2015 BOVIS Homes said yesterday it is on track to deliver a significant hike in profits after the UK’s buoyant property market helped the housebuilder to sell a record number of homes. The FTSE 250 company, which builds most of its homes in the south of England but outside London, completed 3,635 property sales in the [...]
Rush to avoid higher stamp duty lifts estate agent Savills’ profits January 15, 2015 ESTATE agent Savills has hiked its profit guidance for 2014 after changes to stamp duty came into effect at the end of last year, sending shares surging 7.3 per cent. Revenue and profit exceeded forecasts in December after a sales boost from the rise in stamp duty for properties priced over £937,000 introduced in chancellor [...]