Coinbase shares soar after BlackRock reveals Bitcoin partnership August 4, 2022 The world’s biggest asset manager BlackRock announced a partnership with Coinbase today to ease the way that institutional investors can buy and track Bitcoin, sending shares in the crypto bourse soaring beyond 30 per cent.
UK defence and aerospace firms risk being outpaced in STEM skills shortage August 4, 2022 The UK’s defence and aerospace sectors are continuing to be squeezed by a shortage in STEM talent, leaving ‘high-trust’ businesses vulnerable to being outpaced by overseas counterparts. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills revealed earlier this year that 43 per cent of STEM vacancies were hard to fill due to a shortage of applicants, [...]
More jumbo Bank of England rate hikes on a knife edge if UK tips into long recession August 4, 2022 More super-sized rate hikes in the coming months from the Bank of England are on a knife edge if the economy slumps into a prolonged recession, City economists are betting. Consumers and businesses may struggle to absorb further 50 basis point rate rises, likely prompting the Bank to slowdown its rate hike cycle, experts said [...]
Sofa seller ScS cautions cost-of-living pressures have slowed orders down August 4, 2022 ScS has warned that cost-of-living pressures have already driven down orders although the sofa business still lifted its profit expectations for the rest of the year. The furniture retailer reported a 3.9 per cent increase in orders in the year to 30 July, compared with the previous year. The company said a stronger than expected [...]
Back to black: Lufthansa returns to profit but shaves flight offerings amid travel chaos August 4, 2022 Lufthansa has returned to black, posting an operating profit of €393m (£331m) in the three months to June following a boom in demand for cargo flights. Up from last year’s loss of €827m, the carrier’s adjusted EBIT margin rose to 4.6 per cent while net income went up from a loss of €756m to a [...]
Bank of England signs off biggest rate hike in nearly 30 years August 4, 2022 The Bank of England today ripped up the history books and hiked interest rates by the largest amount in its 25 years of independence. The nine-strong committee of rate setters, including governor Andrew Bailey, backed a 50 basis point rise by 8-1 in a bid to step up their battle against the worst inflation surge [...]
Fraud on the rise as cost of living soars, FCA warns August 4, 2022 The UK’s top financial watchdog sounded the alarm over rising fraud rates today as scammers look to swoop on vulnerable consumers amidst a cost of living crunch.
PwC global digital assets chief leaves to launch ‘crypto asset manager’ August 4, 2022 The head of PwC’s crypto business has left his position at the Big Four accountancy firm to launch his own “crypto asset management firm” with a view to drawing institutional investors into cryptocurrencies. The new fund, Nine Blocks Capital Management, is set to use a $75m initial investment from Hong Kong fund Nine Masts, to [...]
Investors drop Hikma Pharmaceuticals amid weak financials and CEO’s exit August 4, 2022 Investors dipped out of Hikma Pharmaceuticals today after the British pharmaceutical giant posted weak financials in the wake of its CEO’s exit. Hikma, headquartered in London, reported a largely unchanged revenue of $1.2bn in the six months to 30 June, marking zero growth in comparison with the same period last year. Operating profit sank nearly [...]
MPs set to scrutinise government crypto hub plans in fresh inquiry August 4, 2022 MPs are set to scrutinise the Treasury’s plans to make the UK the “global home of crypto” in a fresh inquiry into the wider crypto and digital assets sector, launched today.
