Bankers to face new fitness test under FCA rules March 16, 2015 Financial services firms will be forced to vet thousands of staff each year and make sure they are “fit and proper” to perform their roles under a new framework being finalised by City regulators. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will today publish the final proposals for a new regime [...]
Slowdown at top and bottom of market hits London house prices March 16, 2015 London property prices fell from February to March, figures released today show. New seller asking prices dropped by 0.4 per cent according to online property market Rightmove. It is the first time in three years that prices have retreated in March. High-end property values saw their asking prices trimmed by 2.6 per cent. Demand [...]
Soaring talent demand pushes up City salaries March 16, 2015 Competition for professional staff is pushing up London salaries. The number of professional job vacancies climbed 21 per cent year-on-year in February, according to figures released today by recruiters Morgan Mckinley. Surging demand for new employees is resulting in higher pay packages. Workers securing new positions were lured away by a 21 per cent pay [...]
General Election 2015: IOD slams Labour’s “obviously counterproductive” profit-sharing policy plans March 15, 2015 Potential Labour party plans to force companies to share profits with staff have been slammed by the Institute of Directors as “counterproductive” and a deterrent to investment. The policy to force firms with over 50 employees to set up profit-sharing schemes in the style of John Lewis is reportedly being considered by Ed Miliband in a bid [...]
Investment banking more popular than at any time in the last three years March 13, 2015 Investment banking has become one of the most attractive careers for Londoners and surged to its most popular level in three years. Global recruiter Randstad polled over 10,000 workers to discover how attractive different industries are to the UK's workforce. In London, investment banking is now the third most popular sector following electronic engineering and [...]
FCA bans Gracechurch’s Sam Kenny from financial services industry and hands out £450,000 fine March 13, 2015 The former chief executive of Gracechurch Investments Limited Sam Kenny has been banned from working in the financial services industry and fined £450,000. Gracechurch, a now dissolved stock broking firm, was guilty of a host infractions. The Financial Conduct Authority found Kenny had used pressure selling techniques and Gracechurch had routinely sold stocks through misrepresentation [...]
UK construction suffers worst fall in more than a year in January March 13, 2015 UK construction suffered its worst fall in more than a year in January, due to a heavy decline in house-building. Output in the construction industry fell 2.6 per cent from a month earlier, when it had risen 0.6 per cent. The reading came in way below economists' expectations – many had forecast a rise of [...]
Economists split on US June rate hike after retail sales disappoint March 12, 2015 US retail sales have dropped for a third consecutive month, new figures show. Retail sales declined by 0.6 per cent on the month in February, with economists split on the impact it will have on interest rates. “A 0.6 per cent deterioration in sales in February was possibly due to severe weather affecting many parts [...]
Cheaper oil takes trade deficit to lowest level for over 14 years March 12, 2015 The UK’s trade deficit has dropped to its lowest level since 2000, official figures show. The UK imported £600m more than it exported in January, according to data released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It compares to the £2.1bn trade deficit in December. Around half of this fall was due to a drop [...]
London leads national house price growth March 12, 2015 London and the south east are leading national house price growth despite slowing substantially, new figures show today. Average UK house prices were 6.8 per cent higher in February than they were in the same month last year, according to figures released by property services firm LSL today. If London and the south east are [...]