TPP: Wikileaks crowdfunds bounty for trade deal secrets of Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership June 3, 2015 Wikileaks is seeking to get hold of confidential information about the major free trade deal being negotiated between the US and Asia – by crowdfunding a $100,000 reward. The whistleblowing organisation has already raised a third of the money it needs to put up as a bounty for information about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) from [...]
UK house prices: The proportion of house buyers shunning mortgages for cash purchases has hit a record high June 3, 2015 More people than ever before are buying houses without the need for a mortgage, according to new figures. Almost four in 10 people (38 per cent) paid for their properties in cash during the first quarter of the year, Nationwide has said. This mitigated subdued mortgage lending data to some extent. There are signs that [...]
With debt of £221,000 per household, Generation Y will be the first generation to experience a lower quality of life than its parents June 3, 2015 The UK is a nation of secret debt addicts, and Generation Y (those born after 1980) is going to be left to pick up the tab, a study by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) warned today – meaning it will be the first generation to be worse off than its parents. The think tank [...]
UK house price growth slows to lowest rate in over a year June 3, 2015 UK house price growth slowed in May, with the annual growth rate slowing to an annual rate of 4.6 per cent in May – down from 5.2 per cent in April and the lowest rate since August 2013. The figures The average cost of a house in the UK now stands at £195,166 – the [...]
David Cameron U-turns from his opposition to pay rises for MPs as salaries set to hit £74,000 June 2, 2015 Members of Parliament are set to see their annual salaries rise by 10.3 per cent, to £74,000 in September, according to a new report from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). Despite previously saying that the above-inflation pay rises were “simply unacceptable,” Prime Minister David Cameron has now said he will not stop them. IPSA, an [...]
Joy for shoppers as prices drop for the 25th consecutive month June 2, 2015 UK shop prices dropped by 1.9 per cent in May compared with the same month last year, according to figures released today by the British Retail Consortium. This is the same rate of decline seen in April and marks over two years of shop price deflation. The overall figure was helped by food prices, which fell [...]
Dijsselbloem: Greece deal is not theoretically possible this week June 2, 2015 Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has poured cold water on optimism over a deal on Greece, saying it's "not theoretically possible this week". Read more: Greek crisis complacency has big risks Greece must be "honest with voters", he added. Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent the euro to a three-week high , saying he [...]
Fed Fischer says he’s a fan of the BoE’s policy set-up June 2, 2015 Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer has revealed he's a fan of the Bank of England approach to financial stability policy – with the creation of a separate committee devoted solely to it. "The British approach of setting up nearly parallel committees for monetary policy and for macroprudential financial supervision and regulation appears to be a [...]
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras offers a “realistic” agreement to creditors June 2, 2015 After months of unpromising talks between Greece and its international creditors, could a bailout agreement finally be in view? Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras said today he had submitted a “realistic plan” for Greece to exit its current economic crisis, which includes a number of concessions, although the details are not yet known. Read [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage approvals have their biggest spike since April 2009 June 2, 2015 The number of mortgages granted in April for new homes grew at its fastest rate since April 2009, according to data from the Bank of England. The figures Some 68,076 mortgages were granted in April for house purchase, compared with 61,945 in March – an increase of 9.9 per cent – the biggest monthly percentage change [...]
