British manufacturing order books at highest in almost 30 years as exports boost demand June 22, 2017 Britain’s manufacturers are basking in the summer sun as they report the strongest order books since 1988, according to a closely watched survey of UK industry. More than a quarter of manufacturers said total orders were above normal, with only 12 per cent below par, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reported. Food, drink, tobacco [...]
Imagination Technologies (IMG) share price rockets puts itself up for sale after Apple says it will no longer need to use the British firm’s tech June 22, 2017 Imagination Technologies announced today that it has entered a formal sale process for the group, and is already in talks with potential buyers. The British tech firm said it has “received interest from a number of parties for a potential acquisition” over the last few weeks, and has invited interested parties to contact Rothschild, which [...]
Brokers beware: The UK’s first ever no-commission share trading service launches today June 22, 2017 For the first time in the UK’s history, anyone wanting to dabble in shares can trade away without having to pay commission as Trading 212 launches its share trading platform today. The fintech firm behind the project is hardly a new kid on the block – its online commodities and forex trading platform has been [...]
Whitehall feud over Crossrail 2: Ministers push back against Transport for London (TfL) funding plan for £31bn route June 22, 2017 Rising tension between the government and Transport for London (TfL) over funding plans for Crossrail 2 is threatening to shunt the £31bn infrastructure project into the sidings. TfL submitted its business and funding case for the new cross-London rail route to the government in March, but transport secretary Chris Grayling has yet to give the [...]
Sterling rises against the US dollar (GBPUSD) as Bank of England (BoE) chief economist Andy Haldane says it should withdraw Brexit vote stimulus “later in the year” as division with Mark Carney grows June 21, 2017 The Bank of England should withdraw its post-Brexit vote monetary stimulus “later in the year”, according to its chief economist, as the divisions among the central bank’s monetary policymakers become starker. Andy Haldane said the Bank is running the risk of delaying too long in raising interest rates, with a hike “relatively soon” necessary. Sterling [...]
Queen’s speech 2017: Here’s the full text of Theresa May’s plan covering Brexit, HS2 but no mention of US President Donald Trump visit June 21, 2017 The much anticipated Queen’s speech for 2017 has been delivered, outlining Theresa May’s plans and her pledge to win “the trust and confidence” of the British people. Read more: Live: The Queen’s speech The Queen’s speech: The full text My Lords and Members of the House of Commons. My government’s priority is to secure the [...]
Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick has stepped down from the ride-hailing company June 21, 2017 Travis Kalanick, the controversial chief executive of Uber, has stepped down from his post, the company has confirmed. Kalanick helped set up the ride-hailing behemoth, but faced a shareholder revolt which forced his hand, according to the New York Times. Yesterday five investors called for his resignation, and wrote a letter to Kalanick outlining their [...]
The Serious Fraud Office’s Barclays probe: Everything you need to know June 21, 2017 What happened in 2008? In the summer of 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis, Barclays needed emergency funding. The bank raised £4.5bn in June that year and £7.3bn in October from investors including Qatar Holding and Challenger Universal. Why was this investigated? Over the last five years, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) [...]
Venture funding from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), Episode1 and Entrepreneur First for biometric recognition company AimBrain could change the face of retail banking June 20, 2017 AimBrain, a biometric recognition business, could be set to change the face of retail banking after receiving £4m of venture capital funding. As banks increasingly look to explore automation and enhance security, devices ranging from mobile phones to ATMs could soon be paying much more attention to how customers look, sound and act. AimBrain’s founders, [...]
Barclays (BARC) and ex-staff including former chief executive charged by Serious Fraud Office (SFO) with fraud over Qatar fundraising but share price remains flat June 20, 2017 The Serious Fraud Office has announced today it has charged four former Barclays bankers, including ex-chief executive John Varley, over a 2008 fundraising from Qatar. It said this morning that it had charged the bank and four individuals with “conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance contrary to the Companies Act [...]