West watches on as Bank of Korea raises interest rates August 26, 2021 The Bank of Korea is raising interest rates in a shift away from pandemic era monetary policy as the country faces spiralling public debt. The interest rate climbed 25 basis points from a rate of 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent following a 10 per cent increase in household debt and a 14.3 per [...]
Staff shortages leave consumer facing businesses pessimistic about recovery August 26, 2021 Consumer facing businesses, such as bars and restaurants, have a pessimistic outlook about their economic recovery, according to a CBI survey. In the three months to August, optimism about the general business situation fell from +47 per cent in the previous quarter to -17 per cent despite an uptick in sales volume. The biggest concerns [...]
Barclays invests £294m to expand India operations August 26, 2021 Barclays has announced plans to invest more than 30bn rupees (£293.9m) in its India unit to expand operations. The infusion of capital will enable Barclays, which has operated in the Asia Pacific region for 50 years, to grow its Corporate and Investment Banking and Private Clients businesses. Barclays offers financing, advisory and risk management services [...]
Citigroup to increase crypto exposure with bitcoin futures trading August 25, 2021 Citigroup, one of the world’s largest currency trading banks, is awaiting regulatory approval to begin trading bitcoin futures. The bank confirmed it is looking to increase its clients’ crypto exposure by trading bitcoin futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a popular forum for digital asset trading among institutional investors. Futures trading allows investors [...]
OnlyFans u-turns on sexually explicit content ban August 25, 2021 OnlyFans has “suspended” a proposed ban on sexually explicit content after facing backlash from creators and users. In a statement posted on Twitter the company said: “Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard. We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change. [...]
WeWork attracts workers back to the office with pay as you go desks August 25, 2021 WeWork will allow customers to rent workspaces on a pay as you go basis in a bid to attract employees back to its offices. This week, WeWork launched its OnDemand service at 40 locations across the UK and Ireland, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Dublin. Desks can be booked for £45 per day [...]
Crime watch: loan fraud hits three year high August 25, 2021 Criminal financial activity is on the rise with loan fraud rates at their highest level in more than three years according to new data. According to Experian, which analysed data from the National Hunter Fraud Prevention Service, fraud rates are experiencing an “alarming surge.” Loan fraud, the practice of falsifying information on application forms, has [...]
EY handed fine for botched Stagecoach audit August 25, 2021 The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has landed EY and its Audit Engagement Partner, Mark Harvey with £2.3m in fines. The FRC said that an EY audit of StageCoach, an international travel company, “did not satisfy the audit reporting requirements” for the 2016-2017 financial year. Claudia Mortimore, the Deputy Executive Counsel to the FRC said: “the [...]
Covid protection from two vaccine doses fades after six months August 25, 2021 Protection against Covid offered by two doses of the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca vaccines begins to fade within six months underscoring the need for booster jabs according to UK researchers. Scientists behind the Zoe Covid Study app said that effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against infection fell from 88 per cent to 74 per cent five to six [...]
Home working could help older employees retire later August 25, 2021 New ONS data shows that home working could help to boost the economy by upping the age at which older workers retire. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) the UK economy is missing out on an estimated £88bn because of a sharp drop off in employment rates as workers approach pension age. In [...]