Budget 2015: A quick guide to all the key measures March 18, 2015 Chancellor delivers good news for savers and first-time buyers as he turns up heat on banks in play for votes ahead of election. UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ● The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year. However, the economy grew by just 0.5 per cent in the final three months of 2014, [...]
Budget 2015: Here are George Osborne’s best quotes plus his Budget speech in full March 18, 2015 George Osborne's final Budget during this parliament had few surprises but plenty of great quips, including – to the dismay of bookies everywhere – a quip about Ed Miliband's now-infamous second kitchen. Here's a selection of our favourites from today's big speech. (Source: Getty/City A.M.) (Source: Getty/City A.M) (Source: Getty/City A.M.) [...]
Budget 2015 summary: Analysts, economists and think tanks give their verdict on Osborne March 18, 2015 George Osborne delivered a Budget stacked with facts, figures and policies intended to ward off Labour's cost of living offensive and get the electorate on side before May the reactions are already flooding in. Here is a sampling of analysts' reactions to the final set-piece event of the coalition government. BNP Paribas' Dominic Bryant gives [...]
JP Morgan joins forces with pharma giants to lead $100m dementia fund March 17, 2015 JP Morgan has partnered with the UK government to launch a new multimillion pound fund to encourage research into treatment for dementia. The New York-based investment bank said it had been working with the government to structure the Dementia Discovery Fund in such a way that it would make a profit for investors while funding research [...]
Backing the USA: Dollar climbs as investors buy into recovery March 11, 2015 Amid much talk of a US rate hike, Chris Papadopoullos asks if it will happen as quickly as some think The Federal Reserve has a way with words. Last year, it prompted mass market confusion by saying it would wait for a “considerable time” before hiking interest rates. In December, it ditched the term and [...]
There’s very little evidence that you can shrink government by expanding it March 9, 2015 The battle for the soul of the Conservative party post-election has already begun. This week, commentator and conservative activist Tim Montgomerie will officially launch his new agenda – “The Good Right” – a self-styled “compassionate conservative” call to arms for the Tories to become that bit less libertarian and that bit more willing to embrace [...]
UK’s recovery feeds through to pay increases March 9, 2015 BRITAIN’S small firms are increasingly confident, leading to more hiring and to pay increases, according to a study out today from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). More businesses reported rising revenues than said their incomes were falling, by a margin of 19.5 per cent in the first quarter. And a net balance of 12.5 [...]
Low pay and inflation deter rate hike March 4, 2015 CITY A.M.’s panel of economists voted seven to two to hold the Bank of England’s base rate at 0.5 per cent this month. This week’s guest chair, former UK rate-setter David Blanchflower, highlighted the fact that the next move in interest rates could be a downward one. The Bank has said lowering rates is now possible [...]
UK house prices fall by average of £482 in another signal the property market is cooling March 2, 2015 House prices have fallen for the first time in five months as annual growth in the property market slowed to its lowest rate since September 2013 – yet another signal the market is losing steam. The latest figures from Nationwide show house prices fell 0.1 per cent in February compared to a 0.3 per cent [...]
After the record high FTSE falls on Weir warning – London Report February 25, 2015 THE FTSE 100 yesterday retreated from the previous session’s record high, with engineer Weir Group leading the market lower after warning about a significant drop in its revenue in the current year. The blue chip index closed down 14.25 points, or 0.2 per cent at 6,935.38 points after setting a new record high of 6,958.89 [...]