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The extent to which London's irrepressible housing market is being propped up by foreign buyers was laid bare by figures showing as much as 85 per cent of prime London property purchases last year were made with overseas money. Estate agent network London Property Partners reported that just 15 per cent of its sales in the past year were made by UK buyers. Of the foreign purchases, 80 per cent were from Europe and 20 per cent from Asia, LPP said. LLP agents operate mainly in prime locations such as Pimlico and Fulham but also take in more affordable areas such as Tooting. Overseas buyers: London has seen a huge influx of foreign buyers in recent years - while the pound has plummeted However, the trend of foreign buyers providing most demand was continued in wider market figures. LLP said analysis of house price indices from HMRC, Knight Frank and Savills indicated that around 65 per cent of purchases were made by foreigners. In terms of prices, the prime Central London market

Antofagasta has disputed claims it caused water pollution and drought near its Los Pelambres mine in Chile, as well as putting the local community in danger. Anti-poverty group War on Want, which protested at the FTSE 100 copper miner’s annual meeting earlier this week, accused Antofagasta of a string of failings. It cited complaints from locals that the Caimanes community has suffered both contamination and shortages of water due to the presence of the mine and its ‘tailings dam’, a huge deposit of mining by-products. Contaminated: Antofagasta has rebuffed claims that the Los Pelambres copper mine pollutes the local water Antofagasta said Chilean water authorities had uncovered no contamination in regular testing. But local sources insisted that independent testing by the police and Dr Andrei Tchernitchin of the Chilean College of Physicians had revealed that water was not fit for human consumption. Antofagasta also said there was ‘no evidence’ the presence of its mine had any i

The amount that is paid for energy generated from solar panels is set to fall at the end of the month, as the potential returns of harnessing the sunshine that beats down on your roof are trimmed once again. But experts claim that the continued fall in the cost of panels means that the average size of installations are growing and that means that so are the returns. So is it still worth investing, even as the Feed-in Tariff is slashed? Tara Evans investigates. Sunshine: Solar panel FiT rates are dropping but as the cost of installing the technology falls should you still invest? Solar panel payments have tumbled From 1 July the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) rate for generated electricity will reduce from 15.44p to 14.90p per kWh. The Feed-in Tariff rate is what determines the major part of the return people can get from solar panels, paying them for every kilowatt of energy they produce. In October 2011 this stood at 43.3p - almost three times the level it will be in just over a fortnigh

Recession-proof pensioners are emerging from the financial crisis earning more money than they went in with, but the same can't be said for young adults whose incomes have taken a big hit. High unemployment and frozen wages have meant that among people in their 20s the median income fell by 12 per cent between 2007/08 and 2011/12, allowing for inflation. Influential think-tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that over-60s went through no such difficulties in the same period, as their median incomes rose by between 2 and 3 per cent. Different story: Pensioners have seen their incomes rise during the financial crisis, but those in their 20s have suffered. At a time when the Government is considering removing certain bonuses - such as the winter fuel payment - from wealthy pensioners, it is telling that the IFS has identified benefits as a reason why the over-60s have had a smoother ride at a time of austerity. Its report said: 'The relative poverty rate for pensioner

Further data emerged last week confirming the recovery in the housing market – and balmy weather is helping, especially where homes have attractive gardens, say estate agents. According to Halifax’s latest property snapshot, national house prices were almost three per cent higher in the first quarter of this year than in 2012, the greatest increase in three years. Making the best of a garden can add tens of thousands of pounds to even modest properties, estate agents say, but they also warn that owners often make ‘disastrous’ mistakes. Fun: Student Lydia Wood enjoys the family jet pool Gardens are being increasingly viewed as ‘living rooms’ – and marketed as such by vendors seeking to extract the maximum value for the property. Mark Haywood, president of the National Association of Estate Agents, says: ‘Potential buyers want to imagine themselves relaxing in the garden. It sounds a cliche, but it is an extra room. ‘This matters now – in this mild spell of early summer – more

High street shops already battered by the recession were today told their battle for survival would drag on for at least another six years. Researchers for the Centre for Economic and Business Research forecast that households will focus on building up savings to guard against weak pay growth, high unemployment and continued Government austerity. They warned consumer spending will grow as a ‘snail’s pace’ for almost the remainder of the decade. Spending squeeze: Consumer spending is likely to be subdued for the next SIX years the CEBR says The forecast comes just days after the Institute for Fiscal Studies said real wages had suffered their biggest ever fall in the five years since 2008. It said a third of people had accepted a pay freeze since the start of the financial crisis in order to keep their job. Those lucky enough to receive a pay rise had seen it increase by around 2 per cent on average but many others had accepted employer imposed pay cuts rather than join the dole qu

'Phenomenal' demand for Primark products after just one week were the icing on the cake for ASOS today: the online fashion retailer reported a huge sales surge that predated its new partnership with the discount clothes store. ASOS has tapped into demand from value-seeking twenty-somethings for both branded and own-label products. The company - whose name stands for 'as seen on screen' - particularly targets young women aiming to emulate the designer looks of celebrities such as Nicole Scherzinger and Cara Delevingne. Britain's traditional high street shops have suffered as consumers feel the pinch from squeezed incomes, but ASOS's performance suggests online retailers may be faring far better - though the strongest growth came from markets abroad including the US and Australia. Looking good: Having begun a limited trial of Primark fashion items last week - marking the clothing chain's first foray online - business has rocketed through the