From the UK general election to Greek debt fears it was an obstacle course for cross-border IPOs in 2015 December 15, 2015 It may have been the year of the mega deal, but the capital markets have suffered in 2015, and it’s been a decidedly poor year for cross-border IPOs. Fears over China’s growth, elections, referendums, and defaults in Europe, as well as uncertainty over the Fed’s rate hike all contributed to a 39 per cent drop [...]
Good news for UK consumers as research reveals food prices are expected to stay frozen in 2016 December 15, 2015 UK food prices will fail to grow again next year in a further boost to consumers, according to a new forecast. Food prices dropped 1.5 per cent in 2014 and are expected to fall again 3.1 per cent this year, Prestige Purchasing, a foodservice supply chain consultant, said today. Annual food price inflation had not been negative [...]
London rents cool off as tenant demand softens December 15, 2015 London rents dropped in November as the market was hit by a seasonal slowdown. Figures published this morning by peer-to-peer mortgage lender Landbay show rents dropping 0.6 per cent compared with October. The monthly drop took annual London rental growth down to 3.1 per cent in November from 4.3 per cent. The dip in rental [...]
The gap between England’s largest cities and neighbouring towns is widening, think tank warns December 15, 2015 A leading independent think tank has warned of a widening divide between England’s largest cities and nearby towns, with three in five towns falling behind their bigger neighbours. A report released today by Demos has identified 21 largest cities and compared their performance with that of two towns closest to each city using 30 different [...]
Oil price slide casts shadow over Shell’s £47bn takeover of BG Group December 15, 2015 Shell's mega merger with BG Group was given the green light by Chinese regulators yesterday, but the deal has been rocked after tumbling oil prices led to a major shareholder questioning its viability. The price of international benchmark Brent crude oil yesterday fell to fresh lows of $36.33 per barrel before a rally in early evening [...]
Tech giant patent wars heading for Supreme Court: Samsung appeals patent ruling in Apple and iPhone’s favour over smartphone design December 14, 2015 The latest chapter of the tech giant patent wars sees the drama heading all the way to the US Supreme Court. Samsung appealed a patent ruling in Apple’s favour in a last-minute bid to minimise the over $500m in damages it’s been forced to pay its rival. The Korean tech giant paid $548.2m to Apple [...]
Government advisers back calls for an investigation into ex-HBOS directors December 14, 2015 Two independent government advisers have backed calls for ex-HBOS directors to be investigated by the regulator. Last month the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) released a report into why HBOS failed. Iain Cornish and Stuart Bernau told the Treasury Select Committee they supported the conclusions that Andrew [...]
US growth slowdown may delay second Federal Reserve interest rate hike December 14, 2015 The US economy is contracting this month, according to a survey of businesses, and is likely to prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates quickly next year. The sales managers’ index published today by World Economics dropped to a score of 48.9 for December from 52.4 in November. Any score below 50 indicates a contraction [...]
Short sellers eye Anglo American despite “radical restructuring” December 14, 2015 Hedge funds beefed up their positions in Anglo American, even after the miner unveiled a “radical restructuring” which it hopes will enable it to stay afloat amid a prolonged rout in the price of iron ore and other metals. Short-selling interest in Anglo American ticked up from 6.4 to 6.5 percentage of shares on loan [...]
HMRC officially launches digital Personal Tax Accounts online, with more than a million users to have access by mid-December 2015 December 14, 2015 The taxman is coming to a computer screen near you, after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) officially launched its online Personal Tax Accounts (PTA) today. The digital PTAs aim to provide people with a clearer and more real-time picture of their tax situation. More than a million self-assessment taxpayers will have access to their account by [...]
