FTSE firms should publish a breakdown of their workforce by race and pay band, says government-backed review February 28, 2017 Large employers should publish a breakdown of their workforce by race and pay band, according to a new government-backed review. The report by Conservative peer Baroness McGregor-Smith found that if black and minority ethnic (BME) people progressed in the workplace at the same rate as their white counterparts, the UK economy could be boosted by £24bn. She [...]
Softbank pushes merger of its OneWeb investment and Intelsat to create satellite giant February 27, 2017 Japanese technology investor Softbank is lining up a merger between its OneWeb investment and rival Intelsat, according to reports. Talks of a merger are at an advanced stage, according to Sky News, with Softbank looking to capitalise on its recent $1bn (£800m) investment in the company. The deal could be announced today as the New [...]
Revealed: David Cameron’s mornings begin with City A.M. February 27, 2017 Last time we checked there were 1,456 reasons why City A.M. should be the first thing you read every morning, dear reader. And this week, we found another one: former British Prime Minister David Cameron starts his day reading our newsletters. City A.M.EN to that! Read more: Revealed: David Cameron's new jobs Cameron, who was [...]
SpaceX to boldly go where no private company has gone before: The Moon February 27, 2017 Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk will fly two people around the moon next year, boldly going where no private company has gone before. In an announcement late last night Musk said two unnamed private citizens had approached his company, SpaceX, and had paid a “significant deposit” to secure the mission. The announcement could start a new [...]
Ministers must show they are pro-business by tackling costs in the Budget February 27, 2017 Momentum behind the post-Brexit consumer-spending boom appears to be slowing. As City A.M. reports today, a GfK poll found that UK consumers’ confidence took a turn for the worse this month, with the index slipping a point to a score of minus six. It would be easy to dismiss the dip as mere jitters but [...]
Battle lines drawn over London Stock Exchange mega-merger as neither company nor EU budges February 27, 2017 The City is holding its breath to see who will blink first in the battle between the European Commission and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in the case of the latter's £21bn mega-merger with Deutsche Boerse. LSE published a statement late last night saying it now expects the EU to block the deal. The tie-up was [...]
With the deal looking dead, is the likely failure of the LSE-Deutsche Boerse merger good news for London? February 27, 2017 Daniel Hodson, former chief executive of LIFFE and non-executive director of The London Clearing House, says Yes. At the heart of both the rationale and risk to London for this transaction is clearing. The London Clearing House (LCH), 57 per cent owned by the London Stock Exchange (LSE), is a City icon, a multitrillion highly [...]
Mixed data for the US economy as investors hold their breath for landmark Donald Trump speech February 27, 2017 Important indicators in the US economy showed a mixed picture as investors await a landmark speech by President Donald Trump. Trump will address the US Congress on 9pm GMT on Tuesday evening. He is expected to deliver some long-awaited detail on his economic policies, including campaign promises of up to $1 trillion (£800bn) in infrastructure [...]
Housing minister quizzed by MPs on plans to boost housing supply February 27, 2017 The housing white paper is designed to reduce the amount of money wasted, and time spent, on plan making according to housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell. Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, was questioned at the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee during the final public session of its inquiry into capacity in the housebuilding [...]
Former Prime Minister John Major has hit out over “unreal” expectations of Brexit February 27, 2017 Former Prime Minister John Major has blasted “unreal” predictions of the UK's future outside of the European Union. Speaking in central London, Major also accused Brexiteers of “demeaning” their former political rivals in the Remain camp by “shouting down legitimate comment”. Major campaigned for a Remain vote in the referendum, and made a series of [...]