The economy appears to be coping just fine after June’s Brexit vote – but the real test is yet to come August 24, 2016 Two months ago today we were waking up to the frankly astonishing news that 52 per cent of the electorate had voted to leave the European Union. The pound had crashed overnight and the FTSE soon followed suit, losing 200 points on fears of a sharp downturn. In recent weeks we have been treated to [...]
City Moves for 24 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 24, 2016 Smith & Williamson Smith & Williamson, the investment management, accountancy and tax group, has appointed Grant Hotson as group financial director. Grant joins the main board of Smith & Williamson and will sit on the firm’s subsidiary boards relating to the tax and business services and the investment management and banking divisions. He takes over from [...]
Catch of the day should be new fishing policy, urges Adam Smith Institute August 24, 2016 The government has a "unique opportunity" to rewrite its fishing strategy and end the EU policy that has "savaged" UK waters, think tank the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has said. In a paper released today, the ASI has urged the government to withdraw the UK from the European Common Fisheries Policy in the wake of the Brexit vote [...]
The 52 per cent: Most households worried about Brexit hit to finances August 24, 2016 More than half of working-age households are worried about how the EU referendum result will affect their personal finances, new research has found. The quarterly disposable income index, published by Scottish Friendly and think tank the Social Market Foundation, showed that while households had more spare cash than three months ago, they are also concerned [...]
Owen Smith says he will fight to block Brexit without a guarantee of a second referendum or an election August 24, 2016 A Labour party under Owen Smith would work to block Brexit talks without a guarantee of a second referendum or a general election, the Pontypridd MP has said. Smith has vowed that his Labour MPs would seek to block the Prime Minister triggering formal Brexit procedures if he is named party leader next month. The [...]
Financial markets rattled by Bank’s Brexit Bazooka August 23, 2016 The Bank of England's latest bond-buying spree has rattled financial markets by stoking fears that the massive £70bn post-referendum rescue package could be overshooting its mark. Threadneedle Street was forced to pay a premium on £1.17bn worth of government debt because of low market supply yesterday. This caused the going rate for UK bonds to [...]
Elon Musk just revealed a “ludicrous” move for Tesla’s product range August 23, 2016 Tesla has today announced revamped versions of its Model S and Model X, which will take advantage of a more powerful battery pack. Chief executive Elon Musk has revealed the upgraded vehicles will take advantage of a feature called "Ludicrous mode" to offer the fastest acceleration among Tesla's offering so far. "I think this is going to send a [...]
Theresa May is facing pressure from backbenchers ager to secure Brexit “as soon as possible” August 23, 2016 Theresa May is facing pressure from backbench Tories to launch the UK out of the EU as soon as possible, with some targeting separation as soon as next year. Several Conservatives are pushing the Prime Minister to trigger a “snap Brexit”, breaking ties with the EU at the same time. The plans would see the UK [...]
Khan vows to press ahead with TfL sales despite value for money warnings August 23, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan has vowed to press ahead with the sale of Transport for London land, despite warnings his affordable housing plans will mean the sale comes in below market value. Khan was warned earlier this week to warn that TfL is required to seek the best possible price when selling off assets like [...]
Barclays becomes the latest bank to get on the CoCo bond bandwagon August 23, 2016 Barclays has today become the latest lender to launch a CoCo bond. The transaction for the bonds, which will be denominated in US dollars, has not been priced yet and is expected to launch in the near future, depending on market conditions. Contingent Convertible capital notes – or CoCos for short – are a type of [...]