High stamp duty on prime property may prove self-defeating for the government October 2, 2015 In the days that followed the Conservative Party victory in May, the widely-held assumption was that normal service would resume at the prime end of the London housing market with double-digit annual growth. It was a proposition that never looked likely for several reasons, the principal one being a rise in stamp duty last [...]
Redcar steel plant owner SSI goes into liquidation October 2, 2015 It's been reported that the company behind a steel plant mothballed late last month with the loss of 1,700 jobs, has gone into liquidation. The BBC has reported that the Thai parent company of SSI, which owns the Redcar steel plant, has applied to a court in Thailand to wind up its UK arm. The [...]
Equiniti Group set for £390m London float October 2, 2015 Investor services firm Equiniti Group confirmed its plans to float on the stock market today. Equiniti, which provides share registration and investor services, said it planned to raise £390m through the float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The company intends to use proceeds from the IPO to reduce debt, which currently stands at £440m, and pursue potential [...]
Oil price pushed up by escalating tensions in Syria October 2, 2015 The price of oil has risen for the second day in a row, pushed up by an escalation of military action in Syria. In early trading, WTI was up at $45.67 per barrel – a 2.1 per cent increase from yesterday, while Brent was 1.5 per cent higher at $48.39 per barrel. Today, [...]
FirstGroup share price rises on positive expectations October 2, 2015 FirstGroup shares edged up this morning after the transport company said it was on track to meet its expectations. In a trading update for the six months to 30 September, it said it experienced strong revenue growth in both its rail and bus businesses and that the other parts of its operations were also [...]
Experian share price drops after T-Mobile USA warns that 15m customers have been hacked in latest data breach October 2, 2015 Shares in Experian fell 4.2 per cent to 1,030p this morning after it emerged up to 15 million people may be affected by the latest data breach, in which hackers targeted records of T-Mobile USA customers through Experian data. In a strongly-worded public statement the network provider's chief executive John Legere said an investigation [...]
Thousands of Lloyds Premier Bank customers using Royal Sun Alliance emergency cover have had their data “stolen” in security breach October 2, 2015 The personal details of thousands of Lloyds Bank Premier account holders have been lost – potentially stolen – in the latest data breach to hit the City. The data breach affects customers who had Royal Sun Alliance emergency home cover attached to their Lloyds Premier bank account between 2006 and 2012. The policy comes as [...]
London house prices: The capital’s most exclusive homes are going for bargain prices October 2, 2015 Another day, another sign the top end of London's property market is in the doldrums, after figures by Knight Frank showed house prices in the capital's most exclusive areas grew just 1.3 per cent in September on the same month last year. That's the lowest rate of growth since October 2009 – and in some [...]
UK construction PMI: Housebuilding increases at its fastest pace in a year October 2, 2015 Housing crisis? What housing crisis? Demand may be vastly outweighing supply in the UK's housing market at the moment – but the signs are looking increasingly encouraging, after new figures showed the UK's construction sector had one of its best months of the year in September, with growth hitting a seven-month high and – housebuilding [...]
Make 10-year Chinese visas cheaper default option and bring £337m to UK economy, claims UKCVA October 2, 2015 Leading retailers have renewed their pleas for the government to overhaul its system regarding Chinese visas, claiming a simplified regime would boost the UK's economy by £337m. The UK China Visa Alliance (UKCVA) – which is made up of businesses such as retail park group McArthurGlen, retail body New West End Company, Walpole, London [...]