Sterling jumps following BoE’s decision to hold interest rates February 4, 2021 The pound rebounded this afternoon as the Bank of England announced it would leave interest rates unchanged. The currency saw its biggest fall in three weeks this morning as traders nervously waited to see whether the BoE would formally endorse negative interest rates. The Prudential Regulation Authority’s analysis found the UK would need six months [...]
Gamestop Explained: How Reddit investors took on Wall Street hedge funds February 4, 2021 Reddit investors have started to buy up stocks in a bid to cause a “short squeeze”.
Ofcom revokes Chinese broadcaster CGTN’s UK licence February 4, 2021 The media regulator has withdrawn China’s state-owned broadcaster right to broadcast in the UK following an investigation. Ofcom said the owner of China Global Television Network (CGTN) does not have control over its day to day output and is a distributor rather than a provider. Star China Media Limited “did not have editorial responsibility for [...]
Deutsche Bank delivers first profit in six years after trading boom February 4, 2021 Deutsche Bank has recorded a net profit for the first time since 2014, helped by an increase in its fixed-income trading revenue. The German lender reported a net profit of €113m for 2020 after racking up nearly €6bn of net losses the previous year. It was helped by a 17 per cent rise in fixed-income [...]
SPACs: The blank cheque vehicles loved by Richard Branson, Tidjane Thiam and Wilbur Ross February 4, 2021 With backing from the likes of Richard Branson, former US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, City grandee Martin Gilbert and even the boss of the LSE, the vehicles known as special acquisition companies (SPACs) provide a quick and easy way for private companies to go public.
Equity funds take a thrashing on resurgent Covid fears February 4, 2021 Not even the success of the vaccine rollout could take away the January blues for equity funds last month. Inflows reached a five year high in the fourth quarter at £2.4bn buoyed by the vaccine rollout, but the euphoria hasn’t lasted long. Net inflows fell by 97.5 per cent month-on-month to just £64.6m according to [...]
Defiant Reddit traders help Gamestop claw back some of its losses February 3, 2021 The Gamestop bubble has not burst just yet as shares in the retailer jumped again after a gruelling day of trading on Tuesday. Shares in Gamestop dropped 60 per cent yesterday triggering multiple trading halts in the meme stock favoured by Reddit traders. The so-called meme stock saw its share price surge 300 per cent [...]
London IPO activity off to a flying start with busiest January since 2006 February 3, 2021 London markets shook off the January blues with a rush of IPOs, a trend that is set to continue through the year. Building on the momentum seen towards the end of last year, it was the busiest January for the City since 2006. It raised $2.2bn from four listings, including Moonpig and Dr Martens, according [...]
TSB boss Debbie Crosbie’s salary falls to £1.17m after ‘challenging’ year February 3, 2021 TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie banked a cool £1.17m last year but it marked a fall on the previous year as the high street bank nursed a hefty loss. This week TSB reported a £204.6m annual loss, nearly twice as big as the £105.4m loss it suffered in 2018 after its IT meltdown. The bank [...]
Regulator grants challenger lender Cashplus a full banking licence February 3, 2021 Digital challenger bank Cashplus has become the latest London-based fintech to secure a full UK banking licence. Following the Prudential Regulation Authority’s approval, Cashplus is the UK’s newest licensed bank despite being founded in 2005 and serving more than 1.6m small business customers. Like its digital peers, Cashplus offers current accounts for UK SMEs, currently [...]
