Experts question surge in buybacks after record spree in 2022 May 22, 2023 Experts have raised questions about the spate of share buybacks undertaken by UK companies over the past year. Buybacks reached record levels globally in 2022 according to recent figures from Janus Henderson, rising 22 per cent year-on-year to hit $1.3trn. Buybacks were worth 94 per cent of dividends in 2022, compared to 52 per cent [...]
‘A lot riding on this’: Close Brothers looks to win round the City after bruising year May 21, 2023 Merchant banking group Close Brothers is hoping to win back the confidence of the City this week after a bruising few months in which legal lending division Novitas has delivered a hefty blow to profits.
‘I’m a bull on the UK’: Lazard chief backs London despite doom and gloom warnings May 21, 2023 The chief of financial advisory and asset management giant Lazard has said he is a “bull” on the UK despite warnings of the City’s decline on the international stage.
City regulators set for fresh scrutiny as ministers push post-Brexit reforms May 21, 2023 Ministers are looking to strengthen their oversight of financial regulators and boost accountability for decision-making as part of post-Brexit plans to rein in regulatory red tape and fuel the growth of the City.
UK and EU publish draft MOU to improve post-Brexit financial regulatory cooperation May 19, 2023 The UK and the EU’s top body have published the draft of a memorandum of understand, intended to improve post-Brexit regulatory cooperation on financial services. The draft agreement commits the two to “jointly endeavour to pursue a robust and ambitious bilateral regulatory cooperation in the area of financial services”. The MOU was heralded as a [...]
Klarna UK boss quits but predicts BNPL firm will “trailblaze” in payments and banking May 19, 2023 Klarna’s UK boss Alex Marsh announced today that he was stepping down having been at the firm for four and half years. Marsh, who joined Swedish buy-now pay-later (BNPL) firm Klarna in 2018, described his time at Klarna as “nothing short of phenomenal”. However, he said that a recent family tragedy has “brought home that [...]
Stocks on Wall Street rise despite hint Fed’s rate hikes may NOT be over May 19, 2023 Stocks rose again on Thursday after more companies reported better profits than expected, while yields climbed after a Federal Reserve official cautioned the end to its interest-rate hikes may not arrive as soon as Wall Street hoped. The S&P 500 gained 0.9 per cent , adding to its rally from the day before as hopes [...]
Nationwide hands out £340m to customers as it reports 40 per cent profit boost from higher interest rates May 19, 2023 Nationwide’s profit jumped in 2023 as the building society became the latest firm to benefit from higher interest rates. The building society’s pretax profit climbed nearly 40 per cent to £2.2bn from £1.6bn last year despite a slight increase in costs. Nationwide’s net interest margin, the difference between what it pays out and receives in [...]
Lloyds AGM hit by flexible working protests after telling staff to come back to the office May 18, 2023 Lloyds’ annual general meeting (AGM) was hit by protests about its flexible working policies and its fossil fuel financing, but all motions ended up passing with massive majorities. Speaking at the bank’s AGM in Edinburgh on Thursday, representatives from Unite argued that trialled changes to its hybrid working policies disadvantaged women, carers and working parents. [...]
Crisis over? Pacwest and Western Alliance rise again as investors bet worst is over May 18, 2023 Investors are increasingly hopeful that the crisis which has engulfed US regional banks over the past couple of months is coming to an end. Some of the banks which have been worst affected by fears of a broader banking crisis in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and First Republic have [...]