Ireland would take four per cent economic hit in no-deal Brexit, says Irish finance minister January 29, 2019 Ireland’s economy will take a four per cent hit in a no-deal Brexit, the country’s finance minister has warned. Pascal Donohoe today told his government colleagues a “disorderly” Brexit would particularly impact on agri-food and manufacturing sectors in Ireland – leading to slower economic growth over the next five years. The Irish government were told [...]
Construction in crisis: Where did it all go wrong for Kier? January 29, 2019 Construction outsourcer Kier Group has had a tricky few months. First, it became the most shorted stock on the market, with hedge funds drawing direct comparison to failed competitor Carillion. Since then, it has bungled a rights issue, lost its chief executive and seen its share price plummet more than 39 per cent. City A.M. tracks [...]
Personal insolvencies reach seven-year high as credit squeezed and wages stagnate January 29, 2019 The number of people in England and Wales turning to insolvency to deal with debt problems has risen to a seven-year high as consumer credit tightens and wages stagnate. There were 34,108 individual insolvencies in the fourth quarter, an increase of 34.8 per cent on the third quarter. In 2018 the number of people who [...]
Investors get green light to inspect SFO documents in legal action against Tesco January 29, 2019 A group of investors pursuing legal action against Tesco over its 2014 accounting scandal have been given the green light to inspect documents compiled by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Last Friday a High Court judge ruled that the documents, now in Tesco’s possession, would be of “considerable litigious advantage” to the claimants. Judge Hildyard [...]
JP Morgan Asset Management given green light to sell funds in China January 29, 2019 JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has had two funds approved for sale in China. The funds – the Asia Equity Dividend Fund and the Global Bond Fund – will be distributed through JPMAM’s joint venture partner China International Fund Management after the China Securities Regulatory Committee gave the US company the green light. The funds [...]
US-China trade war greater threat to M&A deals than Brexit, survey finds January 29, 2019 The trade war between the US and China is a greater risk to merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this year than Brexit, according to research published today. A total of 50 per cent of senior global M&A professionals viewed the trade tensions, rising tariffs and potential subsequent erosion of global GDP as the biggest emerging business [...]
JP Morgan reshuffles European banking team to target M&A push January 29, 2019 JP Morgan has shaken up its banking team in a bid to challenge leading UK banks when it comes to M&A. The investment bank has reshuffled its European banking division moving co-head of M&A in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, David Lomer, to lead the UK division alongside Ed Byers. It would [...]
Downing Street slaps down Sajid Javid over net migration target January 29, 2019 Downing Street has insisted reducing net migration to below 100,000 is still government policy – despite the home secretary saying there are no more targets. In the Commons on Monday, Sajid Javid was asked if the government was “formally dumping” its longstanding aim of getting net migration into the tens of thousands. The home secretary [...]
City watchdog vows to keep searching for missing money from Premier FX collapse January 29, 2019 The City watchdog has probed 250,000 transactions on the hunt for money owed to individuals following the collapse of foreign exchange company Premier FX. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive Andrew Bailey said his investigators would not stop until they had traced the missing cash. The foreign exchange firm, based in Portugal with offices [...]
New Lloyd’s boss John Neal apologises for ‘unacceptable’ results as he sets out his vision for the future January 29, 2019 The new chief executive of Lloyd’s of London apologised for the insurance markets’ “unacceptable” performance and unveiled a plan to get it back on track in his first public speech today. John Neal, who joined Lloyd’s four months ago from insurer QBE, took the job against a backdrop of poor results at Lloyd’s which suffered [...]