By: Chris Dorrell

Chris Dorrell is a freelance journalist and City AM contributor. He was previously City AM's banking and then economics reporter. When Chris is not breaking news, he can often be found playing with his band Totally Amorphous.

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Ikea UK pays out £90m dividend to parent as instore sales soar

January 29, 2023

Ikea reportedly paid out a £90m dividend from its UK business to its parent last year – the first in six years – as the Swedish furniture giant continues to rake in bumper profits. The dividend, reported by The Sunday Times, reflected the £62.4m profit made in 2021, a year interrupted by a series of [...]
Zahawi ditched by Rishi Sunak as Conservative chair over £5m tax bill

January 29, 2023

Nadhim Zahawi has today been sacked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as Conservative party chair after weeks of speculation about his tax affairs. Sunak told Zahawi, 55, that, after an independent investigation, “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code,” forcing him to ditch the MP for Stratford-on-Avon. Sunak’s [...]
Experts question whether Morgan Stanley’s $1m Whatsapp spot fines will work

January 26, 2023

Morgan Stanley has hit some of its bankers with heavy fines for conducting official business on Whatsapp, the Financial Times reported today. But experts have questioned whether dishing out penalties to the bank’s staff really solves the problem of keeping bank’s internal communications in line with financial regulators’ expectations. Depending on the seriousness of the [...]
Mastercard beats earnings estimate as consumer spending holds and cross-border transfers rise

January 26, 2023

Consumer spending holding strong and a jump in cross-border payments helped Mastercard beat analyst’s earnings estimates for the last quarter, the company said today. At $2.62, Mastercard’s earnings per share was slightly higher than analyst estimates, while profit rose six percent in the period to $2.5bn, matching expectations, the firm said in its quarterly earnings [...]
NatWest to shutter two London branches in latest round of closures taking UK total to 66

January 26, 2023

Natwest will close a further 23 branches between April and June this year, including two in London, as the shuttering of its presence on Britain’s high streets picks up pace. The closures add to the 43 branches Natwest has already confirmed will be closing in 2023. Only two of the branches – Clapham High Street [...]
Crypto ‘Wild West’: 85 per cent of crypto firms fail to meet minimum regulatory standards

January 26, 2023

Around 85 per cent of crypto firms failed to meet minimum regulatory requirements when applying for registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), according to the watchdog. In a letter to the Treasury Committee, Sarah Pritchard, FCA executive director of markets, said “around 85 per cent of those cryptoasset firms that applied for registration were [...]
Record profits place TSB on course for £50m dividend but impairment charges rise on recession fears

January 26, 2023

TSB Bank proposed a £50m payout to its parent company in the first quarter of 2023 as its yearly pretax profit increased to a record level. Pretax profit in the 2022 financial year rose to £183.5m from £157.5m in 2021, reflecting lending growth, higher interest rates and higher deposit margins. This figure includes the costs [...]
Diageo shares fall despite strength in premium drinks sales as US market disappoints

January 26, 2023

Diageo reported an increase in profit and beat analyst expectations for sales growth but investors were disappointed by the company’s performance in the US market, sending shares down over six per cent in morning trade. In the six months to 31 December, the world’s largest spirits manufacturer’s pretax profit increased to £3.1bn from £2.7bn On [...]
FCA’s new sustainability rules to establish UK as world leader on anti-greenwashing

January 25, 2023

Industry figures today claimed the UK was set to become a global leader in the fight against so-called greenwashing after the conclusion of a consultation by the financial regulator. The new rules aim to clamp down on greenwashing, when firms make exaggerated or misleading claims about the environmental credentials of their investment products. The Financial [...]
Quilter’s assets under management falls by more than £10bn but signs of hope remain

January 25, 2023

Quilter’s assets under management and administration (AuMA) fell by more than £10bn in 2022 as the asset management industry continues to grapple with instability in the global economy. In 2022 the wealth manager saw AuMA fall to £99.6bn from £111.8bn the year before. Average AuMA for the fourth quarter of 2022 was £98.8bn, below the [...]

Why HMRC is huge Premier League transfer window tax headache

Why HMRC is huge Premier League transfer window tax headache

Why the Loire Valley is about so much more than fairytale castles

By: Chris Dorrell

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