EU referendum: Almost three-quarters of London’s professional practices fear a Brexit November 1, 2015 Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of London’s professional practices believe Britain leaving the EU would have a negative impact on their business, Smith & Williamson has revealed exclusively to Morning Wire However, only 38 per cent of firms outside of London and the South East questioned in the accountancy group’s Professional Practices Survey thought that [...]
Turkey’s lira strengthens against the dollar after 2015 election result November 1, 2015 Turkey’s lira strengthened almost three per cent against the dollar, the strongest it has been since mid-August, after today’s election results. The lira reached 2.84 to the dollar in low-volume trade today, compared to Friday’s close of 2.91. Today’s election results see Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) win back a majority, which it lost [...]
More bad news from China: Factory activity contracts for a third consecutive month November 1, 2015 In the latest sign of China's economic slowdown factory output contracted in October for the third consecutive month, against expectations. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 49.8 for October, the same as September. While the figure was the same, implying some stability, any number under 50 implies a contraction. Read more: Is China's move [...]
European Central Bank: Greek banks need to find €14.4bn in new capital October 31, 2015 Greek banks are in need of cash (and digging down the back of the sofa is unlikely to cut it). The four biggest Greek banks need a combined €14.4bn (£10.3bn) in new capital if they are to survive, according to the European Central Bank. The central bank has assessed Piraeus Bank, Alpha Bank, the National [...]
Bitcoin price: The digital currency just hit a 2015 high October 30, 2015 Bitcoin’s on a roll. The digital currency has been gaining speed all month, and just zoomed past its July peak to hit a new high for 2015 at $320. This puts bitcoin up 37 per cent over the month. Bitcoin prices plummeted over 2014, from a high of $1,150, and 2015 didn’t start much better. [...]
Zombie accounts take a bite out of UK savings October 30, 2015 On the eve of Halloween, almost half of UK savers are at risk of being bitten by zombies warns peer-to-peer lender, RateSetter. Two in five people have no idea about the rate paid on their savings and are in danger of being bitten by ultra-low interest rates, the study of over 2,000 people found. And scarily, that rises to almost half [...]
Eurozone creeps out of negative inflation as consumer price index inches up to zero in October October 30, 2015 The Eurozone crept out of negative inflation this month, although it remains way below the European Central Bank's target of just under two per cent. Year-on-year CPI growth was flat, having fallen 0.1 per cent in September, according to a flash estimate by Eurostat out today. European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi has said the emerging market slowdown and financial market turbulence [...]
Where are the UK’s £1m houses? These London boroughs sold more £1m-homes than Scotland, Wales and the rest of the UK combined October 30, 2015 All but two of London's boroughs have had more £1m-houses sold so far this year than the whole of Scotland. From January to the end of August just two local authorities – Dagenham & Barking and Newham – have had no sales of £1m-homes, placing them in the same position as Scotland. But even when compared to Wales, where 14 [...]
UK house prices: Combined wealth of UK property investors rises 40 per cent in a year, hitting a record £306bn October 30, 2015 The UK's real estate investors are richer than ever before, with £306bn of wealth – a new record. That's according to the Estates Gazette Rich List, which said this was the first year the figure had risen above £300bn. It's a 40 per cent jump since 2014, when the total figure was £218.3bn. What's surprising is [...]
Bubble bubble housing trouble: London’s property market is scarily close to a crash October 30, 2015 London's housing market is teetering on the brink of a crash after two years of “explosive” growth that has turned it into one of the most overvalued cities in the world, economists at UBS have warned. The news comes as research released today from YourMove and Reeds Rains shows that record numbers of aspiring homeowners believe [...]