Bank of England’s Open Forum: Osborne warns big bank fines aren’t a thing of the past November 11, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has warned the huge fines levied on some of the world's biggest banks aren't a thing of the past, and will still serve to deter bad behaviour by bankers in the future. "If anyone thinks being unethical in the financial services industry is a good way to make money, I'd suggest they take [...]
Rightmove sees off threat from OnTheMarket.com as it increases market share November 11, 2015 More proof Rightmove is rising above estate agent bickering, after research by analysts Liberum found it's grabbed market share from new rival OnTheMarket.com. It was feared the property portal would be hit by the launch of OnTheMarket in January. One of the conditions of listing on the site, an estate agent-owned mutual designed to increase competition among [...]
AstraZeneca issues $6bn of bonds to fund ZS Pharma acquisition November 11, 2015 AstraZeneca has issued $6bn worth of bonds so that it can finance its acquisition of biotech company ZS Pharma. The British drugmaker said the move would have no material impact on its financial guidance for the year, and that it will help it to meet certain repayment obligations. The bonds will be released in a series [...]
UK house prices: “Just move out of London” – one mortgage site’s solution to Generation Rent’s affordability crisis November 11, 2015 Nowhere has the UK's housing crisis been more potent than in the capital, where a generation of people – dubbed "Generation Rent" – has been priced out of the property market. Now one mortgage site has a solution: go somewhere else. MyLocalMortgage.co.uk reckons if Generation Rent wants "cheaper housing and higher life satisfaction, it should just move out [...]
London house prices: Is the property supply crisis on the rebound? Here’s the top five spots for homes on the market with Wandsworth and Westminster top of the list November 11, 2015 When it comes to London house prices, you have to throw out your notions of supply and demand: it’s all about location, location, location. That’s no huge surprise of course, but what is surprising is the extent to which that’s the case. Wandsworth, the most expensive borough in the capital, actually had the largest number [...]
UK employment rate hits new record high for July to September as wage growth tails off November 11, 2015 The UK's employment rate soared to a new record high in the third quarter of this year, although wage growth appears to be tailing off slightly. There were 31.21m people in work for July to September, pushing the employment rate to 73.7 per cent, the highest since comparable records began in 1971. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 per [...]
Far from being unlucky, home insurance claims actually go down on Friday 13th November 11, 2015 Friday the 13th may have a reputation for being unlucky – but it turns out that doesn't ring true when it comes to household mishaps. Home insurance provider Policy Expert has discovered that claims on home insurance actually go down on the traditional day for bad luck, with claims on some of the most recent Friday 13ths coming [...]
John Lewis opens its first European store as it expands into the Netherlands November 11, 2015 John Lewis may be the chattering classes' favourite department store at home – but so far, it hasn't ventured into Europe. But that's about to change: today the retailer announced plans to open its first European offerings – in the Netherlands. The company said it will open three "shop-in-shops" in de Bijenkorf department stores. The first three [...]
Tullow Oil share price flat on slashed 2016 capex as plunging oil prices chip away at profits November 11, 2015 Embattled Tullow Oil has slashed next year’s expenditure by a third to tackle plunging oil prices that continue to eat away its profits. The figures The oil and gas producer said it expected full-year pre-tax operating cash flow to land at $1bn, while net debt will hit $4.2bn. Its capex forecast for 2015 remains unchanged at [...]
TalkTalk share price up as firm estimates cyber attack could cost £35m but raises dividend 15 per cent November 11, 2015 Embattled telecom firm TalkTalk has estimated that the massive cyber attack against it in October has cost it £35m, but the firm has surprised shareholders by raising its dividend. That pushed shares up more than 12 per cent to 244p in early trading. The figures Forget about the cyber attack for a minute: TalkTalk's revenues rose 4.7 per cent to £912m for the six months to 30 [...]
