Raab aims to negotiate early free trade deal with Australia February 6, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab arrives in Canberra today and is aiming to discuss the potential for an early trade deal between the UK and Australia. Raab will hold talks with Australia’s foreign minister Marise Payne to discuss future trade and investment opportunities as well as an early trade deal. Trade between the two countries last [...]
Pension schemes slammed for ‘thin and non-committal’ climate change policies February 6, 2020 Pension scheme trustees are failing to comply with their investment duties on climate change, according to a new report. The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) found that only a third of a sample of trustees have complied with legal transparency requirements and is calling on the Pensions Regulator to carry out a review. [...]
Ministers commission review of markets competition February 5, 2020 Ministers have launched a review into the effectiveness of competition in the British economy. Chancellor Sajid Javid and business secretary Andrea Leadsom have commissioned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to provide evidence on areas where competition is failing. In a letter to the competition regulator’s chief executive Andrea Coscelli, the ministers said the current [...]
BoE policymaker calls for stress testing to go beyond banking sector February 5, 2020 A Bank of England (BoE) policymaker has called for bank stress testing to extend beyond the banking sector. Speaking at the European Central Bank’s stress testing conference in Frankfurt, Donald Kohn said that the bank was looking at opening up stress testing to hedge funds and open-ended funds. Stress tests are used by the BoE [...]
Relief for shortsellers as Tesla stock slumps 14 per cent February 5, 2020 Investors betting against electronic carmaker Tesla may breathe a sigh of relief after its stock slumped more than 14 per cent. Tesla is the largest short in the domestic market with short interest of $14.28bn, but short sellers have been dealt a blow in the last week as Tesla’s stock climbed above $900 (£692.7). Tesla’s [...]
Vanguard partners with HarbourVest to enter private equity industry February 5, 2020 Vanguard and HarbourVest have today announced a strategic partnership to provide investors with access to private equity. A move into the private equity industry could see Vanguard earn higher returns and achieve increased diversification. “We are entering the private equity market the Vanguard way—partnering with a world-class advisor to provide a high-quality offer,” said Vanguard [...]
Coronavirus: Bill Gates pledges $100m to tackle outbreak February 5, 2020 Billionaire Bill Gates has increased his pledge to $100m (£77m) to combat the outbreak of the coronavirus as the number of cases worldwide climbed to almost 25,000 and the death toll neared 500. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Foundation said today that the funding will strengthen detection, isolation and treatment, as well as developed [...]
HSBC set to axe senior managers in strategy shift February 5, 2020 HSBC is reportedly set to unveil a strategy overhaul which will see a new round of job cuts targeting senior managers and reduce its presence in some smaller markets. Reuters reported that the changes are expected to be part of a strategy update by interim chief executive Noel Quinn on 18 February. The restructuring is [...]
Disney beats estimates and boasts 28.6m new subscribers for streaming service February 4, 2020 Walt Disney beat analysts’ estimates for its quarterly revenue and boasted 26.5m for its Disney Plus streaming service in the quarter. In a conference call after the earnings release, chief executive Bob Iger said Disney Plus is now at at 28.6m paid subscribers as free trials turned into paid subscriptions. He said the service has “exceeded [...]
Square Mile sees few signs of Brexodus February 4, 2020 The number of job relocations from the Square Mile to the EU has remained far short of the thousands predicted when Britain voted to leave in 2016. Catherine McGuinness, leader of the City of London, told Reuters that the numbers of bankers and insurance and asset management staff moving to EU subsidiaries was between 2,000 [...]
