Central banks highlight week ahead on global stage September 4, 2022 Central banks will yet again be closely watched this week, with policymakers right across the world still attempting to get a handle on out of control inflation pressures. This week will see Aussie chief Philip Lowe announce what markets expect to be a further rate rise, up north of 2 per cent. Then on Wednesday, [...]
Shawbrook owners put plans to sell the challenger bank on ice September 4, 2022 The owners of Shawbrook Bank have reportedly shelved their plans to sell the lender. Private equity firms BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital were seeking bids of around £2bn for the challenger bank, which specialises in lending to small and medium-sized companies. The Financial Times reported, however, that the firms had failed to attract offers [...]
Phoenix shareholders threaten legal action to block Mercuria’s full takeover September 2, 2022 Upstream oil and gas firm Phoenix Global Resources is being challenged by shareholders over the company’s decision to accept a full takeover offer from majority shareholder Mercuria. J Stern & Co, a London and Swiss based investment house, has threatened legal action against the decision on behalf of a group of minority shareholders. They argue [...]
Letters: Never-ending tide of fraud September 2, 2022 [RE: Fraud crackdown stalled by record court wait times] I read with interest – but not surprise – that the value of fraud cases heard in courts has significantly risen in 2022, particularly in high-value fraud cases. I would add two points to your commentary. Behind the rising trial numbers lie human stories, with victims [...]
Johnson commits funding to Sizewell C nuclear plant to ‘get on’ with project September 1, 2022 Press Association Boris Johnson promised £700 million of funding for the Sizewell C nuclear power project as part of a drive to improve the UK’s energy security. The Prime Minister said the spike in gas prices driven by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine showed why new nuclear generation capacity was needed in the UK. The [...]
Letters: Time to keep moving September 1, 2022 [Re: Transport for London signs funding settlement with government, August 30] Sadiq Khan has finally given up the petty political posturing and agreed to a long-term financial settlement for TfL. The deal reached is a reasonable one, and it reflects TfL’s own pre-Covid financial plans. The government is providing £3.6bn, on top of the £5bn [...]
DEAL DONE: Transport for London signs funding settlement with government August 30, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) has signed a long-term funding deal with central government to keep London moving until spring 2024. It comes after two years of fraught negotiations between the TfL and the government after passenger revenues fell due to the pandemic’s impact. The deal was signed off by Transport for London at a board [...]
Chancellor Zahawi on US trip in effort to bang the drum for London finance August 30, 2022 Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi will embark on a US trip this week in an attempt to bang the drum for Britain’s post-Brexit financial future. Zahawi will visit the New York Stock Exchange and meet with senior global bank representatives with “the aim of setting the highest possible standard for global financial services co-operation between the two [...]
Pubs and brewers at risk from energy crisis, warn UK’s biggest pub companies August 30, 2022 Pubs and brewers across the UK are at risk of closure within months amid price hikes upwards of 300 per cent, industry bosses have warned. Bosses of six of the UK’s biggest pub and brewing companies have signed an open letter to the Government urging it to act in order to avoid “real and serious [...]
Baker Hughes staff in Scotland begin walk out over contract changes August 29, 2022 Over 100 staff at Baker Hughes operations in Scotland began a two week strike today over the company’s use of ‘fire and rehire’ tactics. Trade union Unite estimates that the contractual changes put forward by Baker Hughes – one of the world’s largest oil field services companies – would wipe off 29 per cent of [...]
