The Square Mile and Me: 1 Lombard Street and Ekte boss Soren Jessen on his best City lunch March 30, 2023 Each week we ask the City great and the good for their Square Mile anecdotes. This week, it’s banker turned restaurateur Soren Jessen, the man behind 1 Lombard Street and Ekte How did you find yourself in the City? I came over from Denmark to work in the City first with Goldman Sachs for many [...]
NAO questions Octopus’ finances after Bulb takeover – but deal will save the taxpayer money March 29, 2023 The UK’s public spending watchdog has raised concerns over Octopus' “weaker financial position than its rivals” following its takeover of Bulb.
Ovo Energy weighs up Shell takeover in bid to overtake Octopus and EON March 29, 2023 Ovo Energy is weighing up a potential takeover of Shell's household energy business which could boost its books with 1.4m more customers.
FTSE 100 close: Ocado delivers bumper gains while Next zips lower March 29, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was hoisted higher by the UK’s largest retailers surging today, except high street bellwether Next, which stumbled badly. The capital’s premier index bumped more than one per cent to 7,564.28 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, surged 1.28 per [...]
Credit Suisse continued enabling tax evasion after 2014 settlement with DoJ, US Senate finds March 29, 2023 Credit Suisse violated a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice as it continued to help wealthy Americans to avoid paying tax, a Senate investigation has alleged. The probe, which took two years to complete, accused the lender – which will shortly be taken over by UBS – of committing “major violations” following its [...]
FCA boss pledges to review listing rules to avoid another Arm snub March 29, 2023 The chief of the Financial Conduct Authority has pledged to review the UK's listing rules after several British firms ditched the City and opted for New York listings.
‘Sink or swim’: Delayed update leaves UK’s £4bn open banking sector in limbo at critical moment March 29, 2023 The UK’s £4bn open banking sector faces a “sink or swim moment” as the industry awaits a crucial update on the future of the industry in the coming weeks, a lobby group has warned. Open banking, which was first rolled out by regulators in 2017 to force dominant high street lenders to open up their [...]
Mortgage approvals snap back following mini budget chaos, but net lending at lowest since 2016 March 29, 2023 Mortgage approvals have improved for the first time since August, as the market begins to shake off the stress of the mini-budget, however experts have warned that the housing market will “remain price sensitive”. According to the Bank of England’s Money and Credit report for February, net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to 43,500 [...]
Bank of England backs ‘substantial’ LDI cash buffer boost to prevent repeat of mini budget chaos March 29, 2023 Pension funds that borrow hundreds of billions of pounds to maximise returns for clients need to keep more money aside to withstand a repeat of the financial market aftershocks which followed Liz Truss’s mini-budget, the Bank of England has recommended. Liability driven investment (LDI) funds that are used by retirement funds to boost returns for [...]
Is the UK about to tick one of its ‘Asia tilt’ boxes by joining CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc this week? March 29, 2023 The UK is set to join the key CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc later this week, according to reports. Negotiations have been ongoing to secure Britain’s entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) since early 2021. And sources have now said the UK’s entry into the pact is “agreed” and “confirmed”, according [...]