Battersea panic stations: Investors flee luxury scheme as up to £2m is knocked off some asking prices March 4, 2016 More than 50 luxury flats on sale at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station have had their prices slashed since January, with some seeing discounts as large as 38 per cent in a sign that wealthy foreign investors are scrambling to desert the scheme. The news adds to fears that demand for prime homes in the capital is [...]
Mobile challenger bank Mondo reaches £1m crowdfunding target in 96 seconds, adding to £7m venture capital investment March 3, 2016 Mobile challenger bank Mondo today reached a crowdfunding target of £1m in 96 seconds. Some 1,861 people invested an average of £542 through Crowdcube today and will share 3.33 per cent equity in the challenger bank. Venture capital firm Passion Capital has already invested £7m in the bank – £2m in March last year and a [...]
Why Chinese equity crowdfunding is taking its lead from the UK – and what challenges the sector faces March 3, 2016 Despite a relatively slow start, the past two years have seen exponential growth in the Chinese equity crowdfunding sector, and there are indications that it could skyrocket in the 12 months to come. Chinese New Year on 8 February kicked off the Year of the Monkey, but will 2016 be a year of alternative finance [...]
Would flat rate pension tax relief undermine savings rates? March 3, 2016 Matthew Brown, private client partner at Thomas Miller Investment, says Yes. If the chancellor moves to a flat rate of pension tax relief, it will be for one reason and one reason only – to reduce the “tax leakage” that the Treasury sees from pensions. Why else would he be considering the proposal? The fact is [...]
Pensions: Secretary of state for work and pensions Iain Duncan Smith defends independent review into state pension age March 2, 2016 Secretary of state for work and pensions Iain Duncan Smith has defended the independent review that his department has launched into state pension age. Responding to an urgent question from the shadow secretary of state for work and pensions Owen Smith, he added that changes to the state pension age could need to be taken to [...]
UK pensions: As state pension age is reviewed, with experts warning that people may have to work until their 70s, study reveals that 61 per cent of over-45s already envy older generations March 2, 2016 Everyone is jealous of retirees right now – even those who are relatively close to becoming one themselves. Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) of over-45s currently saving into a pension pot envy the financial security and lifestyle the generations above them seem to have, acutely aware that they'll probably never have it so good, research released today by [...]
New Barclays chief executive Jes Staley gets a frosty reception in the City as investors reject his case for slashing dividends, sending share price down more than 10 per cent March 2, 2016 New Barclays boss Jes Staley received a frosty reception in the City yesterday, as investors rejected his case for slashing dividends, sending the bank’s share price down by more than 10 per cent and wiping £2.3bn off its market value. Investors recoiled when Barclays said it planned on paying a dividend of 3p for this year [...]
UK pensions: Funding of defined benefit (DB) schemes is getting a bit better, with FTSE 100 companies covering more and more of their liabilities March 1, 2016 Funding for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes is improving, with blue chip companies now covering most of their liabilities, figures released today show. According to the research by JLT Employee Benefits, the total deficit across all UK private sector DB pension schemes stood at £209bn at 29 February 2016, which represents a funding level of 85 [...]
Department for Work and Pensions appoints John Cridland to review state pension age and assess what effects longevity might have on government’s ability to provide for future generations March 1, 2016 The Department for Work and Pensions has today announced that John Cridland, former director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), will be leading a review into state pension age. The review, which is the first for the UK, will evaluate what effects aspects like changing life expectancy will have on the Department's ability to provide [...]
Are fearful investors creating a crisis? Experts warn of “self-fulfilling prophecy” in markets as negativity towards global outlook deepens March 1, 2016 Despite hopes, the G20 grouping of world leaders failed to come up with a deal to boost flagging global growth at its latest meeting in Hangzhou, China. There had been calls for a joint effort to tackle the slowdown – and although a deal was unlikely, analysts had warned the market would respond badly to “policy [...]