George Osborne makes a quick buck on £20 Bitcoin buy at Level 39 August 6, 2014 As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, you might expect George Osborne would like to keep his own pocket money in good old, Bank of England-regulated, sterling. But it’s apparent a trip to trendy FinTech den Level 39 has left Osborne with a sense of adventure – he’s gone where no chancellor has gone before – [...]
Return of the freedom fighter: Boris will put real liberalism back into national politics August 6, 2014 THE PROSPECT of Boris Johnson’s return to national politics will cause much discussion about Europe, given his attractively pugnacious and positive approach to possible withdrawal from the EU (which sounds good to me). But there’s a further impact which should not go unmentioned: having Boris sitting in the House of Commons once again could see [...]
Osborne announces plans to explore the future of Bitcoin August 6, 2014 George Osborne has announced plans to explore how cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin can play a role in the UK financial system. The chancellor has commissioned the Treasury to produce a report on digital currencies, examining their potential benefits and risks, which is set to be published in the Autumn. Osborne said he aims to make the UK [...]
Boris Johnson: I will stand as an MP in 2015 August 6, 2014 Boris Johnson has said that "in all probability" he will stand as an MP at next year's general election, but added that he intends to see out his term as Mayor of London until 2016. David Cameron has described the announcement as "great news." Johnson has previously been the subject of intense speculation over [...]
Draghi speech gets credit for bond yield dip August 5, 2014 MARIO Draghi’s famous “whatever it takes” speech and other market-soothing interventions had a major effect on the cost of servicing debt for some of the Eurozone’s struggling finance ministries, according to research released yesterday. A working paper from the European Central Bank (ECB) itself says that the announcements cut two percentage points from two-year Italian [...]
Osborne vows to make London world’s centre for finance tech August 5, 2014 Britain will offer prizes for finance technology innovators in a new bid to become the world’s leading centre for the sector, chancellor George Osborne will say today. The new drive will see UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) market the capital harder around the globe to attract more firms. And the Treasury, Bank of England and law [...]
Boris Johnson dismisses Uber as “excessively bumptious” August 5, 2014 London Mayor Boris Johnson has criticised the attitude of San-Fransico based firm Uber as "excessively bumptious." Johnson, speaking on LBC, added that he didn't like the way Uber were "moving into London and claiming they could take all this business away from black cabs." The company's rapid growth and penchant for innovation have clearly not conformed [...]
Osborne: HS3 rail link between Leeds and Manchester would make a northern powerhouse August 5, 2014 A high-speed rail connection between Leeds and Manchester would boost the northern economy, chancellor George Osborne has said. Speaking to the BBC Osborne said that a HS3 line would forge a "northern powerhouse," allowing the region to "take on the world." Such developments would come with a £7bn price tag, but the figure could fall if [...]
Francois Hollande calls on ECB to fight deflationary risk in Europe August 5, 2014 French president Francois Hollande has implored the European Central Bank (ECB) to do more to support growth and employment and combat a "real deflationary risk" in Europe. In an interview with LeMonde, Hollande argued that "weak inflation too has negative fiscal consequences on revenues as well as debt. A lot will depend on the level [...]
Juncker’s new EU financial services tsar would be disastrous for the City August 4, 2014 The prevailing winds of politics have not been kind to the City or the wider financial world of late. Politicians, often with one eye on the next election and tempted to kowtow to “banker bashing” sentiments, have paraded their credentials by legislating against the unruly financiers who “caused the financial crisis”. But if you think [...]