UK trade secretary Liam Fox: It’s too soon to seek membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) January 3, 2018 The UK’s trade secretary has argued it is too soon to seek membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after reports emerged that Britain held informal talks with members of the bloc. “We don’t know what the success of the TPP is going to yet look like, because it isn’t yet negotiated. So it would be [...]
Intercontinental Exchange, Deutsche Borse and the London Metal Exchange granted last-minute reprieve from Mifid II futures rules January 3, 2018 The largest regulatory shake-up in a generation finally hit markets across Europe yesterday, but got off to a more turbulent start than European authorities expected. The UK’s finanial regulator and its German counterpart began the day by allowing three of the world’s largest exchange groups to delay the implementation of new rules, designed to boost [...]
Gaucho Group appoints Oliver Meakin of Maplin Electronics as CEO to replace founder Zeev Godik January 3, 2018 Restaurant group Gaucho appointed a new chief executive to replace founder Zeev Godik, who left last year amid rumours he was forced out. Oliver Meakin, currently boss of Maplin Electronics will take the reins of the Argentine steak restaurant chain at the end of the month. He is a former colleague of Gaucho’s new chairman [...]
Carillion (CLLN) share price falls as it faces investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority over company announcements January 3, 2018 Carillion said this morning it is facing an investigation by the City watchdog over announcements made by the firm over the first half of last year. In a statement, the London-listed company said the Financial Conduct Authority had notified Carillion that “it has commenced an investigation in connection with the timeliness and content of announcements [...]
Alibaba’s Ant Financial abandons $1.2bn MoneyGram takeover as US authorities refuse to back deal January 3, 2018 The proposed $1.2bn (£880m) sale of US company MoneyGram to a China-based group has been blocked. Ant Financial, the digital payments arm of Alibaba, had reached an agreement to buy MoneyGram after beating out competition from US firm Euronet. But government regulators on Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) have refused to [...]
London’s Tube to get quicker and more reliable as TfL wraps up festive work on Northern Line extension and upgrades January 3, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) said today Tube passengers will reap the rewards of the completion of significant upgrade work over the festive period, promising quicker and more reliable journeys. It is also planning to set the wheels in motion for walk-through trains on a raft of Tube lines, awarding the contract for the new trains [...]
US President Donald Trump tells North Korean leader Kim Jong-un his nuclear button is “much bigger” January 3, 2018 US President Donald Trump has continued his heated row with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying his nuclear button is “much bigger” and “more powerful”. In a tweet sent in the early hours of this morning UK time, Trump rebuked comments made by Kim earlier in the week, saying his nuclear launch button was always [...]
Let 2018 be the year in which we stop labelling international students as immigrants January 3, 2018 The rise in rail fares may have added insult to hangover, but it remains the case that the start of a new year brings with it a feeling of renewal, or at least the prospect of it. With Brexit talks poised to enter a more meaningful (if complicated) phase and with UK growth revised up [...]
Day of the Mifids: Controversial EU Mifid II regulations for the asset management industry finally kick in January 3, 2018 A long-awaited regulatory shake-up, touted as the biggest to hit financial markets since the 1986 “big bang”, has finally rippled through the City and across Europe today. The second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (known as Mifid II) has already cost top global banks and asset managers $2.1bn (£1.5bn), a study from the Boston Consulting [...]
Crystal ball time: We asked the experts what’s in store for 2018 for stocks, bonds, currencies and economics January 3, 2018 At the start of 2017 investors might have been forgiven for expecting a more predictable year ahead. If they were, they were sorely disappointed by a year of intrigue – and yet asset prices kept rising, despite the drama. We asked the experts to dust off their crystal balls once more to see what lies [...]