UK business bank borrowing surges in January March 1, 2019 UK businesses significantly increased their borrowing from banks in January driven by a surge of merger and acquisition activity, figures show. Borrowing by UK businesses increased by £9.2bn in January, with £5.3bn lent by banks, according to the Bank of England's monthly borrowing statistics. Read more: Brexit uncertainty costs UK £800m a week The increase in [...]
Editor’s Notes: Let’s hear it from the New Democrats and Reagan Republicans March 1, 2019 Back in 2015, I was convinced the UK was heading for another hung parliament. The following year I expected a comfortable Remain victory in the EU referendum. A few months later, turning to the US, I was certain that Hillary Clinton would trounce Donald Trump at the ballot box. Then, just to compound things, I [...]
MPs’ pay to rise to almost £80,000 a year thanks to inflation-busting increase February 28, 2019 MPs’ basic salary will rise to £79,468 from 1 April thanks to an inflation-busting 2.7 per cent pay rise, it has been announced. Read more: Cancelling Commons' recess cost £400,000… yet there was no Brexit vote The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority – which sets the level of MPs' pay – said the move was inline with [...]
UK growth ‘guaranteed’ to fall in no-deal Brexit, Mark Carney warns MPs February 26, 2019 UK growth is “guaranteed” to fall in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney has told MPs. The Bank slashed its UK growth forecast for 2019 to 1.2 per cent earlier this month – down from the 1.7 per cent forecast in November – even on the assumption of [...]
How to ride the pound sterling rollercoaster through a no-deal Brexit February 26, 2019 With no signs of letting up, the cold winds of Brexit uncertainty blowing through parliament have been pretty chilling for the UK economy. With Theresa May revealing on Sunday that MPs might not vote on her new deal until 12 March, and rumours swirling that Brexit may be delayed until May or beyond, businesses are [...]
‘Bridge over Brexit’: UK and US strike post-Brexit derivatives and trading deal in major boost for the City February 25, 2019 Derivatives trading and clearing between the UK and the US will continue as normal regardless of the outcome of Brexit, the Bank of England said today in a major boost for the City. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Bank of England and UK watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have struck a deal to [...]
Meet the banker-turned-restaurateur bringing the City’s dining scene to life February 14, 2019 Whatever happened to the liquid lunch? It is a question often asked with nostalgia throughout the Square Mile. Traders in pubs, City executives in boardrooms, journalists and lawyers in wine bars; the sight and smell of booze at noon was at one point in time as much a part of the City’s identity as pin-stripes [...]
Brexit uncertainty costs UK £800m a week, says Bank of England economist February 14, 2019 Brexit has already cost the UK economy £40bn a year – or £800m per week – since the referendum due to prolonged uncertainty, according to Bank of England economist Gertjan Vlieghe. The rate-setter also said a no-deal Brexit would most likely to lead to an easing of monetary policy, while even in the case of [...]
US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is following a familiar path February 13, 2019 It has been nearly a year since Donald Trump infamously tweeted that “trade wars are good, and easy to win,” adding, for extra emphasis, “it’s easy!” How things change. America’s most enthusiastically protectionist modern-day President isn’t finding talks with China so simple after all. This week he rowed back on a supposedly-hard deadline that was [...]
Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro calls for gold held in Bank of England to be returned February 12, 2019 Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday that the Bank of England should repatriate the Venezuelan gold it holds in its vaults. “They have sequestered billions of dollars in gold in London that are ours – that is money to buy supplies, raw materials, food, medicines. They have sequestered $1.4bn [£1.09bn] for many months, that we [...]