Malaysia drops charges against Goldman Sachs over 1MDB scandal Malaysian prosecutors today dropped criminal charges against three Goldman Sachs units accused of misleading investors over $6.5bn (£4.9bn) in bond sales they helped organise for scandal-hit state fund 1MDB. The move comes after Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $3.9bn to Malaysia to settle a probe into its alleged role in the scandal involving the fund, [...]
Bank of England: UK economy ‘likely’ to need further stimulus Bank of England: Britain ‘likely’ to need further stimulus Bank of England interest rate-setter Michael Saunders said today that it was “quite likely” that more stimulus will be needed for Britain’s Covid-hit economy in a downbeat speech on the outlook. “I consider it quite likely that additional monetary easing will be appropriate in order to achieve a sustained return of inflation to the two [...]
Treasury set to reject City coronavirus loan refinance plan Treasury set to reject City coronavirus loan refinance plan The Treasury is reportedly set to reject a City of London plan for a new state-owned organisation that would refinance the billions of pounds of emergency coronavirus loans lent to UK companies. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to rebuff plans put forward by a group led by trade body The City UK and audit firm [...]
Watchdog opens probe into major homebuilders over leasehold practices September 4, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said it was opening enforcement cases against four of the UK’s biggest housebuilders over suspicions they may have broken consumer protection law in relation to leasehold homes. The CMA today said it was opening enforcement actions focusing on the practices of Barratt Developments, Countryside Properties, Persimmon Homes and [...]
Logistics groups call for ‘urgent’ meeting with government over Brexit border disruption September 4, 2020 The UK’s leading logistics and customs groups have called for “urgent” meetings with ministers to discuss Brexit border issues over their fears the supply chain “will be severely disrupted”. Eight groups called for an “urgent roundtable meeting” with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, chancellor Rishi Sunak and Transport secretary Grant Shapps. “Our concern is so [...]
UK business activity spikes but job losses accelerate September 3, 2020 UK business activity grew rapidly in August as the country recovered from the coronavirus lockdown, but job losses in the private sector accelerated. The IHS Markit/CIPS Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a monthly gauge of activity in services and manufacturing companies, rose to a six-year high of 59.1 from 57.0 in July. Still, that was [...]
GKN-owner Melrose posts £581m loss and scraps dividend on Covid-19 hit September 3, 2020 Takeover specialist Melrose Industries today said the Covid-19 crisis had pushed it to a £581m operating loss as it scrapped its interim dividend. The owner of aerospace business GKN said it had swung to a £581m operating loss in the six months to 30 June, compared to an operating profit of £8m in the first-half [...]
UK trials mass Covid-19 testing programme September 3, 2020 The UK is putting £500m into trials of rapid Covid-19 tests and into population-testing for the disease, the Department of Health said today. Health minister Matt Hancock has said he hopes mass testing using faster Covid-19 tests can be rolled out towards the end of the year, adding that they are key to restoring freedoms [...]
CMC Markets continues its strong performance post-lockdown September 3, 2020 Spread betting and trading platform CMC Markets today said its strong performance during lockdown had continued during the summer months. The company said it is confident that its 2021 financial year net operating income will exceed the upper end of current market consensus. The coronavirus selloff in March helped bolster CMC’s income by 93 per [...]
HSBC pulls low-deposit mortgages after surge in demand September 2, 2020 HSBC UK today said it was restricting its low-deposit mortgages to those switching rates after a surge in demand. The bank said it is “temporarily reserving its mortgages over 85 per cent Loan to Value (LTV) for those customers switching rates.” HSBC was the only High Street bank to continue to offer 90 per cent [...]
