Over to you, Mark II: City A.M. Shadow MPC votes for interest rate cut August 4, 2016 City economists have called on Mark Carney to pull the trigger and cut interest rates for the first time in seven and a half years today. City A.M.’s Shadow monetary policy committee (MPC) voted five to four in favour of slashing rates to a new all-time low of 0.25 per cent. Futures markets indicate a [...]
A rate cut could wipe £1.4bn off operating profits at the UK’s top banks August 4, 2016 Profits will be decimated at the UK’s top banks if, as widely expected, the Bank of England cuts interest rates to a historic low of 0.25 per cent today. New analysis by the banking practice of consultants Simon-Kucher and Partners predicts that lower rates would wipe £1.4bn off the operating profits at the UK’s top [...]
One in three London civil servants should be relocated outside the M25 to boost productivity August 4, 2016 One in three civil servants should be relocated outside London to boost productivity in public services, according to new report from think tank Policy Exchange, which comes as HMRC signs a lease for new offices in Croydon. According to Policy Exchange, roughly 25,000 civil servants could leave the capital in a bid to deliver more [...]
The UK has been “a difficult friend” to efforts to clamp down on tax evasion, Margaret Hodge has claimed August 4, 2016 International efforts to tackle tax evasion amount to little more than a sticking plaster, according to MPs, with the UK taking the blame. A new report from an all-party group chaired by Labour’s Margaret Hodge has slammed efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to tackle corporate tax planning. In particular, the group [...]
Almost 80 per cent of directors support the end of the government’s plans for a fiscal surplus by 2020 August 4, 2016 A survey of more than 1,000 members of the Institute of Directors has shown a dramatic swing towards support for further government spending. 78 per cent of IoD members said they backed the axing of the government's manifesto pledge of a fiscal surplus by 2020. It's a huge reversal of a similar poll in May [...]
SMEs urge Prime Minister Theresa May to keep access to European markets post Brexit August 4, 2016 THE UK's small businesses are calling on the Prime Minister Theresa May to keep access to European markets as part of the Brexit process ahead of a key meeting with her today. May is meeting SMEs and their trade associations as she plots a path to Brexit, and formulates her new economic and industrial strategy. Mike [...]
Revenues up at 21st Century Fox on higher advertising spending August 3, 2016 Media conglomerate 21st Century Fox reported a mixed bag of results today, as revenues were below analysts' expectations but earnings per share surpassed estimates. Revenues were up seven per cent year-on-year to $6.65bn in the fourth quarter ended 30 June. However, this fell below projected estimates of $6.68bn. Annual revenues grew one per cent to $27.33bn. Earnings [...]
TripAdvisor shares drop as hotel revenue slumps and online competition heats up in second quarter August 3, 2016 Lower hotel revenues and costly expansion investments hit travel site TripAdvisor’s quarterly revenues today. The figures Shares were down 7.6 per cent in after hours trading to $64.24 (£48.49), after the company posted a three per cent fall in revenue to $391m and a 41 per cent drop in net income to $34m in the second [...]
Tesla Motors loss widens despite putting pedal to the floor to ramp up production August 3, 2016 Elon Musk’s electric car giant Tesla Motors reported lower-than-expected second quarter results, driven by a dip in the number of cars delivered as it ramped up production. The figures Tesla’s total revenue rose 33 per cent year-on-year to $1.27bn (£959m) in the quarter ended 30 June. The company delivered 14,402 vehicles in the second quarter, [...]
Wells Fargo has shrugged off the Brexit blues as it says it experienced “no material impact” on its business August 3, 2016 US banking giant Wells Fargo & Co said yesterday that it did not experience any material impact on its UK or other foreign businesses as a result of the pro-Brexit vote last month. Wells Fargo said the higher end of its potential litigation losses in excess of its liability for probable losses was about $1bn [...]