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Latest forecasts from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) predict that average UK house prices will rise by 1.5% in 2015, an upward revision from January's forecast where the research body expected a 0.6% decline in prices. This reversal is largely due to stamp duty changes having a sooner-than-expected impact, it said in the report, while an improving labour market has boosted consumer spending power. Expectations have been revised up for nearly all regions in the UK, with London being the most notable exception - prices in the capital are expected to underperform those in the rest of the country, with a decline of 3.6% predicted for the year. Indicators such as fewer new buyer enquiries and longer selling times already point to falling prices. House price growth is expected to be stronger outside the capital than within it for the first time since 2009, as the decline in overseas investment (led by factors such as mansion tax concerns and the strength of sterling) will have minimal impact elsewhere in the country. "Outside of London, the outlook for house prices this year has improved after a few months when the market appeared to be coming off the boil," said Nina Skero, Cebr economist and main author of the report. "December's stamp duty changes, as well as rising household incomes, are lifting prices in many parts of the UK. In London, however, we expect prices to decline by 3.6%, driven by a significant weakening at the prime end of the market."

Vmoto Limited (VMT.L) Announced that it expects to generate strong growth in profit over the 12 months ending 31 December 2015. Vmoto's revenue is forecast to exceed A$69 million over 2015 for markets in China and internationally. This higher level of revenue from increased production and distribution will also see a growing proportion of higher margin vehicles produced for international sales. In addition, having acquired and successfully integrated Nanjing Haiyong in 2014, earnings are expected to be generated from this electric vehicle controller business over 2015. In light of growing production and distribution, an increased focus on higher margin international sales, and earnings from Nanjing Haiyong, Vmoto expects to generate in 2015: Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) in the range between A$6 million to A$8 million; and Net profit after tax (NPAT) in the range between A$5 million to A$7 million. This compares to the Company's 2014 underlying EBITDA and NPAT results of A$4 million and A$3.2 million respectively (pre share based payments and impairments). Commenting on the Company's strong growth expectations, Managing Director Mr Charles Chen said: "Having spent the past three years putting in place the foundations to support Vmoto's growth into a leading global electric two-wheel vehicle company, we are now seeing the results of our strategy and operational focus. With revenue from increased production and distribution expected to exceed $69 million this year, Vmoto is at its scale inflection point, with earnings forecast to grow very strongly over 2015 and beyond.

Experience shows that it is traditional for the property market to be affected by uncertainty before elections, with activity returning to above normal seasonal levels after the event. The company expects this trend to be borne out in 2015, with the property market remaining below last year's highly active level until polling day. Assuming a conclusive result, the company believes that the market will enjoy a post-election bounce, restoring transactions to 2014 levels. It anticipates that prices will recoup the weakness of the opening months and show modest appreciation for the year as a whole

Imagination Technologies Group Plc (IMG.L) Announced that the company along with Quanta Computer, Celeno Communications have partnered to create an end-to-end WebRTC-enabled IP camera that lets OEMs and service providers deliver their own branded solution for video conferencing, home surveillance and other applications. The joint solution is available from Quanta as a white-label IP camera, or as a camera module for integration into OEM products such as TVs.

Fourth-quarter results from Poundland showed the discount retailer had topped a billion pounds of annual sales for the first time, though store openings in the final weeks of the fiscal year were slower than hoped. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 6.5%, below analyst forecasts.

This is the market potential of this technology according to the company: With these patents, the directors of Tekcapital believe Tekcapital is well placed to benefit from the growing interest in HMD patent portfolios, as demonstrated by several recently observed transactions by industry leaders involving HMD patent portfolios, including Microsoft's acquisition of the Osterhaut Design Group portfolio of 81 patents and applications for US$150 Million2, Facebook's acquisition of Oculus VR for $2 Billion3 and Google's acquisition of HMD patents from Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) for an undisclosed amount4.

British Land announces it has completed the acquisition of One Sheldon Square, Paddington Central, for £210 million from the Employees Provident Fund, Malaysia. This brings our total investment at Paddington Central to 800,000 sq ft with a further 146,000 sq ft currently under construction at 4 Kingdom Street and 210,000 sq ft of consented future development at 5 Kingdom Street

Cameron to expand Right to Buy Tories look to Thatcher flagship policy to regain initiative from Miliband

Montague quits as 3i chair to focus on Aviva: Tullow Oil Chairman Simon Thompson added 3i to his portfolio of Non-Executive roles, as the investment group appointed him to head up its board.

Numis defends its backing for Elliott: The broking house working for Elliott Advisors in its challenge to Alliance Trust has defended its support for Elliott.

Oil explorers backtrack on new well plans in the Falklands: Three oil explorers have shelved plans for a second well in the south and east Falklands after a sharp fall in crude prices

Shell agrees to sell 185 petrol stations to independent operators: Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell 185 U.K. petrol stations, adding to the portfolios of fast-growing independent forecourt operators.

Scrap fossil fuel subsidies now and bring in carbon tax, says World Bank Chief: Poor countries are feeling “the boot of climate change on their neck”, the President of the World Bank has said, as he called for a carbon tax and the immediate scrapping of subsidies for fossil fuels to hold back global warming.

Carr’s record profits: Carr’s, the animal feed and engineering group, reassured investors with a record first-half profit, sending the shares almost 10% higher. The company, which changed its name from Carr’s Milling Industries to Carr’s Group earlier this month, said pretax profits rose 5.4% to £10.6 million in the six months to the end of February. Revenue fell 2.8% to £208.6 million. Carr’s said that a contract for parts on BP’s Shah Deniz gas pipeline in Azerbaijan had been increased to £9 million, and while some other orders have been delayed by falling oil prices, this has been offset by growth in the U.K. nuclear business. Tim Davies, Chief Executive, said an “outstanding performance” in the U.S. drove strong trading in the agriculture business. Carr’s has developed an animal feed block that cattle lick to receive fats, oils, vitamins and minerals. The product improves digestion and allows herds to produce more milk, or put on more weight for the meat market. The shares are rated on a fairly conservative 10 times earnings and offer a prospective dividend yield of 2.6%. This payout is expected to increase by about 6% in the year ahead. We continue to like the odd mix of the business and retain our recommendation. Carr’s at 147p+8.5p. Questor Says “Hold”.

Fly-past of the wingmen: Andrew Findlay is moving from Halfords to EasyJet to fill the gap created when Chris Kennedy leaves for Arm, after Tim Score retires. Stuart Bridges is quitting Hiscox for ICAP because Iain Torrens joined TalkTalk when Steve Makin stepped down. None of the moves involves a numbers ninja becoming a Chief Executive. Ambitious finance Directors may frown at this. In the eyes of many in the City, their breed occupies a position on boards second only to the big Boss. Typically, the CEO and FD are a double act at presentations. The stats brain answers tricky numerical questions but avoids butting in when the Chief is expounding on strategy. The current outbreak of do-si-dos suggests a different theme is playing, with finance Directors as career wingmen. Their specialism is more transferable than operations management, allowing established names to skip between sectors. That reflects risk aversion among boards, according to Mark Freebairn of recruiter Odgers Berndtson. The criticism may apply to FDs too. Those round pegs may never win plaudits as inspirational leaders, but they are less likely to be fired by the board too

Miners take toll on FTSE after broker downgrades: Mining stocks took a heavy toll on the FTSE 100 on Monday after a series of downgrades from Citigroup

OneSavings Bank prepares push into small business market: Specialist lender OneSavings Bank is to launch savings accounts for small businesses and is considering a move into asset finance as part of plans to expand into underserved sectors.

Election uncertainty curtails household spending and firms’ investment, says Deloitte: Uncertainty over the looming general election has prompted more top finance Chiefs to cut back investment plans and jittery consumers to postpone spending, according to worrying new evidence.

Eni yields stakes in Congolese oilfields to private firm: Eni has ceded stakes in four Congolese oilfields to a private business linked to the Chairman of the national oil company.

Sales of top London homes down 40%: Sales of £2 million-plus properties in the most exclusive boroughs in London have tumbled by almost 40% as the prospect of a mansion tax and hefty increases in stamp duty stifle demand.