Business and Economics

The Nationwide building society has reported that compared with a year earlier there was a house price rise of only 0.5 per cent in December, the lowest level since February 2013. The lender believes that uncertainty over the economic outlook is hampering confidence in the housing market. London and surrounding areas saw a small fall in house prices in 2018. The average house price in the UK in December 2018 was £212,281 compared to £211,156 in December 2017. Northern Ireland...

As if you weren’t feeling rubbish enough after going back to work, the news that top bosses have already made more than the average salary for the year already, is unlikely to fill you with joy..Unless of course you are a CEO. Chief executives of FTSE 100 firms have average pay packets £3.9 million, around £1,000 per hour and are now paid 133 times more than the average worker. So when the clock strikes 1pm they have made the money most...

Leading economists have warned Brexit will be either ‘bad or awful’ for UK prospects in 2019 with damage likely to be inflicted even if Britain manages to avoid a disorderly Brexit. The UK can expect no more than 1.5 per cent economic growth over the next year in the best case scenario, according to a Financial Times survey. Nina Skero, head of macroeconomics at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said that whatever its long-term effects, “in 2019, Brexit...

UK companies in the manufacturing and service sector have indicated that they are struggling to recruit skilled staff because of uncertainty around Britain's future with the European Union.  Brexit has been blamed as 81 per cent of manufacturers and 70 per cent of service sector firms report difficulties recruiting the right skilled staff for their organisations. At the same time they are being hit with rising costs and a reduction in sales. This perfect storm could send many businesses to...

There has been widespread public outcry after a shipping contract was handed out to a company, with no ships or experience of running a shipping line, in no Brexit deal scenario.  Transport Secretary Chris Grayling claimed it was fine to hand out the £13million contract because "it's a new start-up business" He said it was "no problem" despite Seaborne Freight being expected to run emergency ferries if there's no deal over Brexit and would be running essential services to keep...

Brits take an average of FOUR days to get 'back in the saddle' after the holiday period, according to a survey. A study of 2,000 adults shows the majority of us won’t start functioning properly until almost a full working week has passed. Re-adjusting to early mornings, the mountain of work which has piled up over the festive break and having to deal with challenging clients all take their toll in early January. Others find it hard to get in...

In another Brexit story you couldn’t make up, a very lucrative contract has been agreed with a business that will run extra ferries if a ‘no-deal’ Brexit takes place, but has no ships,and has not previously operated a service. Seaborne Freight was one of three companies awarded contracts totalling £108m last week to lay on additional freight crossings to ease the pressure on Dover. Seaborne’s contract is for £13.8m and they have defended themselves amid criticism it doesn’t currently have any shipping...

Stocks are falling in London, as traders rush to sell following last night’s hike in US interest rates. It is the worst performance since Sept 2016. When the markets opened for trading the FTSE 100 shed 119 points (1.6%), which is a new 28-month low of 6646 points. Over in the US, Wall Street stocks slumped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates, sending major indices to fresh 2018 lows, even as the US central bank signaled it...

Britain risks slipping from being the world's fifth-biggest economy, when it is due to leave the European Union, with France and Indian on course to overtake it, accountancy firm PwC said. It is thought that France and India will overtake the UK economy. The accountancy firm projected economic growth in 2019 of 1.6 per cent for Britain -- assuming the country manages to avoid the shock of a no-deal Brexit in March against 7.6 per cent of India and 1.7 % for France. "The...