UK Infrastructure Bank kicks off with £5bn war chest as first loan investments are handed out July 1, 2022 The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed this morning that the new UK Infrastructure Bank has a pipeline of future deals worth £5bn. A report by the NAO said the state-owned bank, which was set up last June to support economic growth in regional sectors across the UK, has already started handing out investment despite some [...]
Boost for Global Britain as UK exports to EU defy Brexit challenges and hit highest level ever July 1, 2022 New ONS data shows that British exports to the EU reached their highest ever level due to rising exports of fuels as the bloc continues to import substantial quantities of LNG. Goods exports to the EU reached £16.4bn in April 2022, their highest level in current prices since the series began in 1997. Meanwhile, the [...]
Mortgage costs expected to grow by another £2,500 as inflation spirals July 1, 2022 The cost of a mortgage is expected to grow by another £2,500 by the end of this year, in comparison with December 2021, according to property site Zoopla today. Economists anticipate “sharp” hikes to mortgage rates in the coming months, as the Bank of England seeks to tame spiralling inflation, which is already at 9.1 [...]
London City launches 10-week consultation to increase passenger capacity June 30, 2022 London City airport launched today a 10-week consultation over its existing planning permission to increase passenger capacity to 9 million by 2031. Following the end of travel restrictions, the east London hub has forecast that 3 million passengers will pass through its gates this year, with numbers set to increase to pre-pandemic levels – 5 [...]
Lights Out: Bulb boss finally exits lucrative role months after supplier entered administration June 30, 2022 Hayden Wood finally announced plans to step down from his lucrative role as chief executive of collapsed supplier Bulb Energy at the end of July.
Blair urges Labour to adopt his institute’s policy agenda June 30, 2022 Sir Tony Blair has today urged the Labour party to adopt his institute’s policy agenda for the next General Election in order to defeat the Tories. Blair said “one of the reasons” he was holding the inaugural Future of Britain conference, hosted by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, just a couple years out [...]
FATF tells countries to quickly implement its Travel Rule to detect suspicious crypto activity June 30, 2022 The Financial Action Task Force told countries to speed up with implementing its Travel Rule for crypto, a key requirement to comply with sanctions obligations and to detect suspicious transactions. The global watchdog found that most jurisdictions have not applied its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. [...]
‘Principle driven’ approach is slowing down regulators, Revolut boss says June 30, 2022 The boss of fintech giant Revolut said UK regulators were bogged down by a “principle driven” approach today as he called for a stricter “rules-based” model to be adopted by watchdogs. Speaking at the CityUK summit today, Nikolay Storonsky said the firm had chosen to set up shop in the UK in 2015 due to [...]
Bitcoin falls below $20,000 as it moves towards biggest quarterly drop since 2011 June 30, 2022 Bitcoin plunged below $20,000 today as it hurtles towards its biggest quarterly drop in more than a decade. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency plummeted 4.35% to about $19,160 and is down 58% in the second quarter of 2022. It tumbled around 68% in the third quarter of 2011 during its very early stages when its price [...]
Staffing agencies slam govt’s plans to use agency staff as strikebreakers June 30, 2022 Staffing agencies have hit out at the government’s plans to lift a ban on using agency staff as strike breakers. In a letter to the government seen by City A.M., a group of the world’s biggest staffing agencies slammed the plans, put forward by business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, to overturn laws banning agency staff from [...]