US investor Cain Hoy buys historic Mayfair block for £80m April 5, 2016 Cain Hoy, US investment firm backed by Guggenheim Partners, has snapped up a historic building in one of Mayfair's luxury shopping streets for £80m. The five storey terracotta building at 19 South Audley Street dates back to 1845 and is best known for housing china and silverware retailer Thomas Goode's emporium since that time. It also has offices and flats on the [...]
HSBC and Credit Suisse bite back over Panama Papers claims April 5, 2016 Two big names from banking to have been caught up in the Panama Papers data breach came out fighting this morning, hitting back at allegations that they were using offshore structures to help their clients cheat the taxman. The information obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) from a leak relating to Panama-headquartered law firm [...]
EU Referendum: Government stockpiling foreign currency reserves to fight sterling volatility April 5, 2016 Britain’s foreign currency reserves reached a new record high last month, passing $100bn (£70.5bn) for the first time, as the UK looks to be building a buffer to defend the pound against the prospect of a currency crisis ahead of the EU referendum. Another $4.5bn in reserves was acquired in March, taking the total amount [...]
Panama Papers: Iceland’s Prime Minister resigns following public outcry April 5, 2016 Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson has resigned following the Panama Papers scandal, local media has reported. Earlier suggestions that Gunnlaugsson would dissolve parliament and call a new election were blocked by the country's president. The country's opposition party yesterday demanded a vote of confidence, after huge protests across the country. It was revealed in leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca on [...]
Potential steel saviour Liberty House had “positive” meeting with government April 5, 2016 Sanjeev Gupta, the businessman who could potentially save Tata Steel's UK assets, said he had "positive" talks with the government today. The head of metals group and commodities trader, Liberty House, was speaking after a meeting with business secretary Sajid Javid in London. "The UK Government appears highly supportive and is proactively engaged in finding a long-term [...]
This bar is selling cocktails styled on London Mayoral election candidates Sian Berry, Caroline Pidgeon, Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith April 5, 2016 Is this the most glamorous mayoral election ever? Last year, we found out Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith received a £50,000 donation towards his campaign from his aristocratic mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith. This year, a "day on the campaign trail" with Goldsmith was auctioned off for £35,000 at the Conservatives' annual Black and White Gala, and just last [...]
Abandoning Hinkley Point C and investing in renewables could save tens of billions April 5, 2016 Abandoning plans for EDF to build the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, and instead investing in renewables, could leave Britain better off by tens of billions of pounds. A report by think tank the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) released today said scrapping the controversial project could save the UK between £30bn to £40bn. It adds [...]
Goldman Sachs just invested millions in an artificial intelligence startup April 5, 2016 The banking world, and now Goldman Sachs in particular, is getting on board with artificial intelligence. The investment bank has put millions into a US startup which uses machine learning for marketing. The $30m round for New York-based Persado also came from previous investors American Express Ventures and Citi Ventures, as well as Bain Capital Ventures and StarVest Partners. “We are [...]
EU referendum: City of London Corporation boss calls Boris Johnson Brexit backing “unwelcome and unhelpful” April 5, 2016 The boss of the City of London has called the mayor of London's backing of Brexit "unwelcome and unhelpful". Speaking to Reuters, City of London Corporation boss Jeffrey Mountevans, Lord Mayor of the City of London, said Boris Johnson's position was "disappointing". "The City of London is the leading international financial centre in the world. It is the [...]