The lessons of the financial crisis have not been learned March 19, 2018 | City Talk Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that household debt levels are very close to their 2008 peak and, more worryingly, that many households have borrowed so much that they may be out of their depth. "There are a significant number of households that are in so deep that the slightest sign of rough [...]
US bank regulation reforms spell trouble March 15, 2018 | City Talk On Wednesday night, the US Senate voted in favour of repealing part of the Dodd Frank Act. The act, introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis required banks to hold more capital in order to withstand future financial shocks. It was seen by many as a sensible response given the entire system nearly [...]
Will the number of listed law firms double over the next 12 months? March 15, 2018 When previously unfashionable Birmingham law firm Gateley listed on London’s AIM market on 8 June 2015, hundreds of years of legal tradition were undone, as members of the public were able to buy shares in a law firm for the first time. While this was undoubtedly a seminal moment for the English legal market, Gateley’s [...]
That the Saudi Aramco IPO is in jeopardy should surprise no-one March 14, 2018 | City Talk The red carpet has been rolled up to reveal a sizeable bump in the road. Just a week after the visit to Britain by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, we’ve learned that the proposed flotation of Saudi Aramco – the world’s biggest oil company and perhaps largest company by market value – has [...]
Coinbase granted licence from FCA as it ramps up UK presence March 14, 2018 One of the world's top cryptocurrency exchanges has received a licence from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as it seeks to ramp up its British arm. Coinbase, which is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, said the new e-money licence from the FCA was an endorsement that its business meets certain anti-money laundering [...]
Neither March hares nor rabbits from hats – why expectations for the spring statement are low March 13, 2018 | City Talk If you were expecting any rabbits out of hats in today’s Spring Statement, both the Treasury and the Chancellor have been doing their level best to disabuse you of such a notion for some time. After last Autumn’s “Boring Budget” expect the “Stale Spring Statement”. Day-to-day public spending may finally be in surplus for the [...]
The world’s first listed energy storage investment fund, which works with firms such as Tesla, is floating in London to raise £100m March 13, 2018 Gore Street, the world’s first listed investment fund to focus solely on energy storage, has announced today it will float in London raising £100m. The fund will invest in facilities of lithium ion batteries, created by firms such as Tesla and NEC, which will help to capture the energy generated by renewable sources and even [...]
The EU is about to flex its muscles with Britain and the US March 12, 2018 | City Talk Military historians the world over have observed the folly of trying to fight a war on two fronts. It didn’t work for Hitler, or for the great military tactician Napoleon. Yet this is the position the European Union (EU) now finds itself in. Not only must Brussels contend with a partner determined to break away, [...]
Broker AJ Bell aiming for £500m London IPO March 11, 2018 Broker and investment platform operator AJ Bell has appointed advisers to explore an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange which is expected to value the company at £500m. The float would include a retail share offer available exclusively to AJ Bell’s customers and is set to take place in late 2018 or [...]
There can be no winners in a trade war March 8, 2018 | City Talk Today, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Governing Council meets to set monetary policy for the Eurozone. But any hopes there may have been among those of a more hawkish persuasion – particularly in Germany – that the ECB might tighten its monthly bond buying programme further have been all but crushed. Despite the Eurozone’s economy [...]