UK development secretary launches Kenya’s first green bond January 13, 2020 The UK’s international development secretary Alok Sharma this morning launched east Africa’s first “green bond” on the Kenyan securities exchange – a product developed with the help of the City and British aid. The bond will help Acorn Housing raise local currency to build environmentally-friendly houses for students in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Read more: Mark [...]
Increasing capital: London economy pulls away from rest of UK in December January 13, 2020 London’s economic performance was “head and shoulders” above the rest of the country in December, survey data has shown, while the capital’s businesses were cheered by the emergence of some political certainty. London was the only British region where output grew in December, with firms hiring at the fastest rate since July, the data from [...]
Almost half of UK firms predict 2020 recession January 13, 2020 Just less than half of UK firms think the country will go into recession this year, a new survey has shown, despite evidence of a rise in business confidence following December’s General Election. British firms cited increased geopolitical tensions such as trade tariffs, Brexit and regional instability as the number one risk to businesses in [...]
Debenhams in talks with Aviva to offload executive pensions January 12, 2020 Struggling retailer Debenhams is in talks with Aviva about the insurer buying out its executive pension scheme, which holds more than £200m assets. Debenhams is closing in on the deal as it shutters dozens of its department stores around the country, Sky News reported. It would guarantee that members of the executive pension scheme enjoy [...]
Bank of England rate-setter hints at cut January 12, 2020 A Bank of England policymaker has hinted he could vote for an interest rate cut at the end of this month, making him the third BoE figure to float the idea this week. Gertjan Vlieghe told the Financial Times that if data does not show the UK economy ticking up from its current subdued state, [...]
Bank of England’s Sam Woods warns of crackdown on the City January 12, 2020 Deputy Bank of England governor Sam Woods has warned the City that it could face a crackdown by regulators as they try to ensure the financial system remains safe a decade on since the financial crisis. Woods – who is chair of the BoE’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) which oversees lenders and insurers – told [...]
UK productivity creeps up but crisis continues January 8, 2020 The UK’s long-running struggle with productivity showed little sign of ending today when official figures revealed output per hour worked grew only marginally in the third quarter of 2019 following four successive quarters of falls. Productivity grew by 0.1 per cent in the July to September period of last year compared with the same period [...]
EU chief von der Leyen: Time too short for comprehensive post-Brexit deal by 2021 January 8, 2020 The new head of the European Commission has said there will not be enough time for the UK and European Union to reach a comprehensive trade agreement by the end of 2020, saying the two sides “must prioritise”. However, in a broadly conciliatory speech at the London School of Economics this morning, she said the [...]
Chinese investment in Europe and North America slumps to nine-year low January 8, 2020 Chinese investment in Europe and North America hit a nine-year low in 2019, new analysis has shown, as Beijing focused increasingly on the domestic economy and geopolitical tensions hurt capital flows. Chinese foreign direct investment in Europe tumbled 40 per cent in 2019 and fell 27 per cent in the US, analysis from law firm [...]
S&P says UK banks will ‘ease’ rather than ‘roar’ into 2020s January 7, 2020 US credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has predicted UK banks will “ease” rather than “roar” into the 2020s as low interest rates, technological disruption and political risks present new challenges to the sector. British lenders had a torrid 2019, with expensive misconduct charges denting their balance sheets and Brexit uncertainty casting gloom over [...]
