Bank of England in dramatic upgrade of UK growth forecasts February 2, 2017 Bank of England governor Mark Carney dramatically revised up growth forecasts today, while dismissing fears of banks leaving the UK after Brexit. The Bank now predicts no slowdown over the course of this year. GDP will climb two per cent, according to the Bank’s latest forecasts, the same rate as growth in 2016. The upgrade [...]
Tesco Bank’s chief exec says lenders don’t pay customers enough interest on current accounts February 2, 2017 The boss of Tesco Bank has hit out at high street rivals, claiming they make billions of pounds by skimping on the rate of interest paid to customers. Benny Higgins, who led the lender through a mammoth cyber attack on Tesco Bank last November, said the amount of switching between providers remains "stubbornly low", something lenders [...]
Deutsche Bank’s management board has promised it won’t be the first to leave London after Brexit February 2, 2017 Deutsche Bank does not plan to be among the first tranche of financial firms shifting jobs out of London because of Brexit woes. Speaking at the bank's annual results press conference today, Sylvie Matherat, the German giant's regulatory chief, said: "We will not be a first mover". Instead, Matherat said the bank would be keeping [...]
Mapped: All the stations that will be shut for the upcoming Tube strike February 2, 2017 Deep breath, one and all. As it stands, another Tube strike (well two actually) is going to give the capital's commuters more to grumble about next week. The planned walkouts by the RMT union over ticket office closures and job cuts will affect services from 6pm on Sunday 5 February to 11am Wednesday 8 February. Read more: There's [...]
Output in the UK’s construction industry grew unexpectedly slowly in January February 2, 2017 The pound fell off its highs this morning after figures revealed output in the UK's construction industry had grown unexpectedly slowly in January – suggesting the sector's tentative recovery is swiftly running out of steam. Markit's purchasing managers' index for the construction industry dropped to 52.2 in January, from 54.2 in December and against expectations of 53.8. Any figure [...]
British Airways ramps up its Greek island routes from London City Airport February 2, 2017 It's only just announced a flurry of new Manchester and Stansted routes. But British Airways hasn't stopped there: it's now ramping up attention on London City Airport, saying it'll be offering nearly two million seats from the Royal Docks-based airport. It has launched a new three times a week service to Greek island Skiathos, making it [...]
Bringing back the bonuses: Deutsche Bank chief executive hopes 2016 a one-off year for annual sweetener slashing February 2, 2017 Deutsche Bank's boss has his fingers crossed it can offer staff a better bonus deal this year, after the bank was forced to slash annual sweeteners significantly for 2016. When grilled on bonuses at a press conference for Deutsche Bank's annual results, John Cryan said: "We hope to resume normal service in 2017." The bank had a turbulent [...]
Aberdeen Asset Management shares tumble on 15th consecutive quarter of outflows February 2, 2017 Aberdeen Asset Management’s shares fell five per cent on Thursday morning after the FTSE 250 firm reported outflows as investors were spooked by the US presidential election. The figures The company reported assets under management of £302.7bn at 31 December, down three per cent from £312.1bn on 30 September last year. Net outflows of £10.5bn were only [...]
Here’s how analysts are reacting to Reckitt Benckiser’s move to acquire Mead Johnson February 2, 2017 Just as analysts were digesting the news that Tesco and Booker Group are merging, Reckitt Beckiser (RB) has revealed that it is in talks to snap up US group Mead Johnson. The deal values Mead Johnson – which manufactures baby milk – at $16.7bn. Mike van Dulken of Accendo Markets said RB was making the move to access the [...]
Here’s how much you need to save each month if you want to buy a home in London in the next four years February 2, 2017 If you're a first-time buyer in London hoping to get yourself somewhere to call home in the next four years, look away now – for a new study has suggested the average first-time buyer should be saving £2,300 each month if they want to buy a house in the capital by 2021. Yikes. The National Housing [...]