China manufacturing sector shows first growth since December June 23, 2014 The Chinese manufacturing sector grew in June for the first time in six months, according to a report from HSBC/Markit. The growth drove up the price of commodities, with iron ore and copper futures among the risers. A rise in commodity prices is boosting the Australian mining sector, with shares in Rio Tinto, Fortesque Metals [...]
Argentina looks to restructure debt as default looms June 18, 2014 Argentina is looking to escape another sovereign debt default by placing its restructured debt under local law instead of US law, to bypass the US supreme court decision that saw the Latin American country facing the repayment of $15bn in debt in one chunk. The supreme court ruled for the hedge funds Argentina has been [...]
Zoopla share price jumps more than five per cent at IPO June 18, 2014 Shares in Zoopla, a property aggregating website, have jumped by more than five per cent on the first day of its IPO, up over 230p from an opening price of 220p. Investors have been eagerly anticipating the launch by Zoopla Property Group, which is owned by the Daily Mail And General Trust (DMGT). A float [...]
YouTube could cut videos from artists like Adele, Arctic Monkeys June 17, 2014 There may be some big casualties including Adele and the Arctic Monkeys when YouTube rolls out its new ad free service In fact, any artist declining to sign up to the new offering will be given the chop according to this article in the Financial Times, which quotes Robert Kyncl, YouTube's head of content. The [...]
Interactive: London house prices compared to 2007 June 17, 2014 Everyone is talking about the ONS stats out today showing that London house prices rose 18.7 per cent in the year to April, against the backdrop of a 9.9 per cent rise nationally. Housing market analyst Neal Hudson made this great scatter graph showing how prices in individual London boroughs are increasing currently and how much [...]
In graphs: London house prices up 18.7pc in just a year June 17, 2014 House prices in London rose 18.7 per cent in the 12 months to April according to new figures released today by the Office of National statistics (ONS). Across the country prices were up 9.9 per cent, with growth outside London and the south east at 6.3 per cent. Despite figures from Rightmove yesterday showing the market [...]
Concrete data on China’s construction bubble June 16, 2014 China's growth is well documented and its property market the topic of much conjecture. There is nothing like a stark statistic to put this into context: according to Bill Gates's article in Quartz, China has used more concrete in the last three years than the US did in the 20th century. There are just 7,758,818 [...]
Could this be the end of London’s housing boom? June 16, 2014 The property market boom could be seeing the first tentative signs of a slowdown, according to property website Rightmove. Prices across England and Wales rose by only 0.1 per cent in May according to the Rightmove house price index, compared to 3.6 per cent in April and 1.6 per cent in March. Average prices fell in [...]
New James Bond film: How many people does Daniel Craig have to kill in Spectre to become the deadliest Bond? March 27, 2014 As speculation mounts about the new release of new James Bond flick Spectre, whose trailer is due to be unveiled tonight, you’re probably still trying to get over the carnage of Skyfall, which left 26 people dead and countless others maimed and heartbroken. But how deadly is James Bond? And more to the point, based on Daniel [...]
