UK will offer ‘route to citizenship’ for Hong Kongers if China introduces security law June 3, 2020 The UK will change its immigration rules to offer “a route to citizenship” to millions of people in Hong Kong if China imposes new security laws, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. Johnson said the UK would “have no choice” but to uphold its ties with the territory, the Times reported. China is facing growing international [...]
Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘winging it’ over coronavirus crisis June 3, 2020 Labour leader Keir Starmer has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of “winging it” in his handling of the coronavirus crisis which he says risks triggering a second wave of infections. Starmer said Johnson needed to “get a grip” of the situation and said government mishandling of the crisis risked making a “difficult situation 10 times [...]
News Group hit with 45 new phone hacking claims June 2, 2020 Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers has been hit with 45 new phone hacking legal claims in the last week, court filings reveal. The Sun-owner has had 85 claims issued against it for phone hacking since May 2018, data from litigation analytics company Solomonic shows. The latest batch of claimants includes Hollywood star Johnny Depp, TV [...]
Bank of England governor Bailey to be interview by London Capital & Finance inquiry June 2, 2020 The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey is to be interviewed as part of an inquiry into how regulators supervised collapsed mini bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF), the investigations chair dame Elizabeth Gloster said today. LCF went into administration in early 2019 with 11,600 investors losing up to £237m. LCF was regulated by [...]
Lufthansa shares jump after board approves €9bn government bailout June 2, 2020 Lufthansa shares jumped nearly six per cent this morning after its supervisory board approved a €9bn (£8bn) government bailout. Europe’s largest airline has been forced to give up some of its landing slots to rivals as a condition of the deal. Lufthansa shares rose nearly six per cent to €9.65 this morning. The deal still [...]
Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales rise to 43,837 June 2, 2020 Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales have hit 43,837, according to data published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In the week to 22 May, 2,589 death certificates mentioned coronavirus (covid-19), the lowest number of deaths involving covid-19 in the last seven weeks; accounting for 21.1 per cent of all deaths and 1,221 [...]
Oil prices rise ahead of OPEC meeting on further production cuts June 2, 2020 Oil prices rose today ahead of a meeting of major oil producers that could lead to further output cuts to shore up prices. Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 0.94 per cent, or 36 cents, to $38.68 a barrel this morning. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 0.73 per cent, or 26 cents, to [...]
Strong economic recovery from coronavirus pandemic predicted June 1, 2020 A strong economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic is likely, with conditions ripe for a quick turnaround, a report published today said. The unusual nature of this recession could be a silver lining for recovery, the report by Oxford Economics said. GDP has fallen because of a planned, partial economic shutdown, so in theory activity [...]
FCA gears up for business interruption insurance court battle June 1, 2020 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today said it had selected samples of insurance wording for a July case on whether insurers should pay out on business interruption policies for covid-19. The FCA said it has selected 17 examples from business interruption insurance policies used by 16 insurers who have entered into a framework [...]
FCA launches investigation into troubled subprime lender Amigo Loans June 1, 2020 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened an investigation into subprime lender Amigo Loans, the company said today. In a stock market update, Amigo said the FCA started an investigation on Friday into whether Amigo’s creditworthiness assessment process and its governance oversight of this was compliant with regulations. Amigo said the FCA investigation [...]