Royal Mint launches solid gold debit card worth £20,000 October 11, 2019 The Royal Mint has produced a payment card made of 18-carat gold which will cost almost £20,000. The firm worked with Mastercard and payments technology firm Accomplish to produce the cards, which will use a Raris account. Read more: Royal Mint releases new coin after August gold rush The debit cards can be personalised for [...]
Shares in housebuilders and UK banks jump on new Brexit deal optimism October 11, 2019 Shares in UK housebuilders and banks jumped this morning on renewed optimism a Brexit deal is achievable. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar met yesterday, with Varadkar saying he believes a deal is possible by 31 October. Read more: Sterling barrels past $1.25 as Donald Tusk welcomes progress on Brexit talks [...]
Barclays execs feared jail over plan to pay hidden fees to Qatar, fraud trial hears October 10, 2019 Senior Barclays bankers discussed their fears of going to jail as they scrambled to create a mechanism to pay extra fees to Qatar during a £2bn fundraising in 2008, a court heard today. Roger Jenkins, Richard Boath and Thomas Kalaris are standing trial at the Old Bailey, accused of conspiracy to commit fraud by false [...]
Danske Bank begins hiring freeze to meet costs associated with money laundering scandal October 10, 2019 Danske Bank has initiated a hiring freeze on non-critical positions in a bid to meet rising compliance costs related to its involvement in a money laundering scandal. “The hiring freeze comes after we’ve seen higher compliance costs and costs related to our anti-money laundering efforts,” a spokesperson for the bank said. Read more: Former head [...]
Goldman reviews role in planned Megvii IPO after US blacklisting October 9, 2019 Goldman Sachs is reviewing its role in the planned listing of a Chinese tech firm that has been blacklisted by the US. The bank said today that it was looking at its involvement in Megvii Technology’s potential initial public offering (IPO). Read more: Weaker European market expected to be at centre of potential HSBC job [...]
Ex-Barclays bankers accused of creating ‘smoke-screen’ to hide secret fees paid to Qatar October 9, 2019 Three senior ex-Barclays bankers on trial for fraud were accused today of creating a “smoke-screen” to try and justify millions of pounds surreptitiously paid to Qatar in exchange for a multi-billion pound investment in 2008. Roger Jenkins, Richard Boath and Thomas Kalaris are standing trial at the Old Bailey, accused of conspiracy to commit fraud [...]
Britain’s financial system ‘prepared’ for worst case Brexit scenario, says Bank of England October 9, 2019 Britain’s banks and financial system are prepared for a “worst case disorderly Brexit”, the Bank of England (BoE) said, although it warned there could still be disruption, particularly for borrowers from the European Union (EU). Extensive preparations by UK authorities and businesses have mitigated “most risks to UK financial stability that could arise from disruption [...]
Why the Bank of England isn’t topping up the punch bowl October 9, 2019 | City Talk Many economists will remember 2019 as the year of the monetary policy U-turn by central bankers around the world. At the end of 2018, the US Federal Reserve, which tends to lead the herd, signaled multiple rate hikes in the year ahead. Just three months on, its forecasts were cut sharply to zero and by [...]
Rising Risk (Part II): Tech bubble take two October 9, 2019 | City Talk In this second instalment of a two-part article, Sebastien Canderle says many tech start-ups are deploying a bagful of tricks to massage their numbers I have already laid out my thoughts here on CFA Institute Talk on the topic of the innovative financial engineering for which many buyout experts have become associated – for example, [...]
Goldman Sachs looks to keep bank on track in disaster with ‘extra Wework space’ October 9, 2019 Goldman Sachs is said to have set up a trading floor in a Wework office in London so the bank can keep operating in case of a disaster. The space comes on top of the US bank’s brand new £1bn, 10-storey HQ in Farringdon, toured by City A.M. Read more: Airbnb hires Morgan Stanley and [...]