The UK’s 10 most difficult interview questions from Accenture, Barclays, Google and Metro Bank February 10, 2016 Job interviews are stressful at the best of times: not only do you have to remember not to fidget in your seat or worry about your handshake being clammy, you also have to get those tricky questions right… City firms are notoriously tough on their victims (er, we mean interviewees) and some of the interview [...]
Thanks, Janet Yellen: WTI crude oil price falls back below $28 February 10, 2016 US oil benchmark WTI crude fell back below $28 this afternoon, after comments from US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen warned turbulence on financial markets could derail economic growth. WTI crude fell to $27.75 per barrel after prepared remarks by Yellen showed she believes financial conditions have become "less supportive" of growth. The news follows [...]
Twitter timeline change: This is Twitter’s new “best of” algorithmic timeline feature February 10, 2016 Twitter has revealed the changes that are coming to people's timelines. Despite the outrage over reports of the introduction of a feed curated by an algorithm rather than simply appearing in chronological order, the feature will roll out from today – although it is optional. In a blog post, Twitter said: "Here's how it works. You flip on [...]
Markets breath a sigh of relief as tough new regulation, MiFID II, is delayed February 10, 2016 Finance firms have been given another years breathing room from a regulatory overhaul of trading rules. The European Commission has proposed a delay of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, known as MiFID II, by a year. The new deadline is 3 January 2018, from 3 January 2017 previously. In November last year the commission [...]
Bank of England’s Andrew Hauser defends financial crisis safety net on the 150th anniversary of the Overend and Gurney panic February 10, 2016 A Bank of England official has defended the safety net it used in response to the financial crisis. Andrew Hauser, executive director of banking, payments and financial resilience, said the Bank’s lender-of-last-resort (LOLR) operations during the 2007 and 2008 financial crises “helped prevent global economic and financial meltdown.” The Bank first lent cash to Northern Rock in [...]
UK exit from the EU would damage our insurance market, says Lloyd’s of London February 10, 2016 A Brexit would damage London’s £30bn insurance market, Lloyd’s of London has claimed. Sean McGovern, chief risk officer and general counsel at Lloyd’s, said today that “exiting the EU will create a level of uncertainty, for Lloyd’s, for the London market, as well as the UK and European economies, we have rarely experienced”. London’s insurance [...]
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen flags risk to growth from financial market turmoil February 10, 2016 US interest rates could stay on hold for longer if the current financial market volatility persists. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen warned that continuing swings in financial markets could partially derail the economy's growth, and said financial conditions had already become "less supportive". However she dismissed the idea that the Federal Reserve may need to [...]
London house prices: How the capital would look if every skyscraper were approved February 10, 2016 We all know that London is fit to burst when it comes to property, and when it comes to the centre of the capital, the only way is up. There are around 250 skyscrapers either in progress or seeking planning permission, prompting a (never-ending) debate about whether this will just ruin the capital's skyline while [...]
PMQs today: Prime Minister David Cameron forced to defend government’s record on housing February 10, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron came under the cosh on housing from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, forcing Cameron to defend the government's plans to help people buy and own property in the UK. Corbyn said that Cameron's record is one of failure on housing, asking what the Prime Minister was doing to help people who suffer unrealistic house prices and [...]
City supremo Rich Ricci is racing into fintech joining FreemarketFX as chairman February 10, 2016 City supremo Rich Ricci, the former long-standing boss of Barclays' investment banking, is jumping on board the fintech revolution. The horse racing fan and former right-hand man of Bob Diamond will join the p2p currency exchange platform FreemarketFX, founded by former senior executive at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Alex Hunn, as non-executive chairman He has also invested an undisclosed sum in [...]