UK fights Brussels’ rejection of City’s post-Brexit model | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The UK government has started to fight back against Brussels over the future of the City, after the most recent post-Brexit model was rejected. Negotiators have told their counterparts in Brussels that its hardline position will harm around 7,000 Europe-based investment funds that rely on British clients for business, the Guardian reports. A section of [...]
How the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy committee (MPC) are expected to vote | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The Bank of England is widely expected to raise the policy rate to 0.75 per cent on Thursday. This would be the second rate hike in a decade and take the policy rate to its highest level since 2009. Recent data have improved, but with some pockets of weakness still evident and ongoing lack of [...]
Mortgage approvals jump to five-month high as subdued market picks up | City A.M. July 30, 2018 Mortgage approvals hit a five-month high in June as Britain’s housing market shows signs of recovery from a slowdown earlier this year. British lenders approved 65,619 mortgages in June, rising 1.5 per cent from 64,684 in May and reaching the highest level since January, according to data from the Bank of England (BoE). Meanwhile, the [...]
IBM, Barclays and Citigroup are building a blockchain-based app store | City A.M. July 30, 2018 IBM and foreign exchange settlement service CLS are building a network based on blockchain technology for testing new applications. Nine financial institutions, including Barclays and Citigroup, are already signed up to participate. LedgerConnect will be an agnostic platform that offers applications provided by different vendors for a variety of services, such as customer compliance checks, [...]
Bank of England: Economists split as monetary policymakers set out into the unknown | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The Bank of England is widely expected to raise interest rates on Thursday, but the decision by the monetary policy committee (MPC) is likely to be one of the most controversial in recent memory. While most City observers now think rates will rise, economists are split as to whether hiking borrowing costs amid a weak [...]
Heineken dampens profit guidance as currency pressure squeezes margins | City A.M. July 30, 2018 Heineken cut its profit guidance this morning as earnings fell below market expectations. Shares in the company dropped 5.2 per cent in early trading. The figures The brewer reported earnings per share of €1.89 (£1.68) in the first half, lower than consensus estimates of €1.96. Margins were also dampened, declining by 118 basis points. Excluding [...]
China ready to open talks with UK on post-Brexit free trade deal, says Jeremy Hunt | City A.M. July 30, 2018 China has signalled it is ready to open discussions on a possible free trade deal with Britain once it leaves the EU, the foreign secretary has said. Jeremy Hunt is on his first overseas visit as foreign secretary after he was appointed to succeed Boris Johnson, who resigned in protest at Theresa May’s Brexit Chequers [...]
Relax – there’s no sign of the City of London losing its euro clearing crown despite Deutsche Bank job moves | City A.M. July 30, 2018 How many jobs will London’s financial sector lose as a result of Brexit? This longstanding question, attracting wildly different estimates, remains far from being answered. Prior to the referendum, several five- and even six-figure numbers were bandied around, while recently much smaller estimates have been touted. Just last week Bank of England deputy governor Sam [...]
DEBATE: With slowing user growth, should investors be concerned about Facebook’s prospects? | City A.M. July 30, 2018 With slowing user growth, should investors be concerned about Facebook’s prospects? Jim Bowes, chief executive of digital experience agency Manifesto, says YES. Facebook was once seen as one of the biggest disruptors to enter the business world. By essentially turning its users into its workforce, Facebook became an enormous money-making machine. Through its interactions with [...]
Rival scheme threatens Heathrow Airport third runway legal challenge | City A.M. July 29, 2018 The backers of a rival project to expand Heathrow Airport have launched a legal challenge against the government’s decision to approve the third runway at the airport, Sky News reported. The rival Heathrow Hub project favours a scheme to extend one of the airport’s existing runways. Read more: Gatwick ‘respects Heathrow vote’ and vows to [...]