Covid-19 inquiry: Flu-based pandemic prep meant herd immunity was seen as ‘inevitable’, says Hunt June 21, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the focus on any future pandemic being flu-based meant there was a “shared assumption herd immunity was inevitably” going to be the strategy used to contain a new virus. He admitted being part of “groupthink” when he was health secretary, leading to a “narrowness of thinking” that failed to expand [...]
Shares in UK housebuilders slump as inflation woes increase prospect of rate hikes June 21, 2023 Shares in some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders closed down today after Berkeley Group warned that its sales could fall by up to 20 per cent as rising mortgage rates rock the housing market. Berkeley’s share price fell around 3 per cent this morning following its announcement, but recovered slightly closing down 1.56 per cent. [...]
Nickel crisis: LME faced ‘unprecedented circumstances’, lawyer claims June 21, 2023 The LME argues it was justified in closing the market and cancelling trades because $19.7bn of margin calls would have created systemic risk.
Softbank boss says it’s time to ‘shift to offence mode’ in AI push June 21, 2023 Softbank is planning to scale up its investment activity according to boss Masayoshi Son, who said the firm is going on the offensive. At the Japanese company’s annual general meeting today, billionaire Son said it was time to “shift to offence mode” as the group prepares to capitalise on rapidly developing AI technologies. Recently, chief [...]
UK inflation smashes forecasts again raising chances of larger Bank of England interest rate hike June 21, 2023 UK inflation is still outpacing experts’ predictions and is running at a level that could lure the Bank of England into an outsized interest rate hike tomorrow, heaping more pain on families and businesses. Official figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the rate of price hikes held steady at [...]
Private equity firm Elliott joins £500m takeover race for Reiss June 21, 2023 US private equity firm Elliott Advisors has reportedly joined the race to takeover upmarket fashion brand Reiss from its current stakeholders Next and Warburg Pincus. Elliott has expressed interest in buying the fashion brand for upwards of £500m, Sky News has reported. Up to three parties are also keen to buy the brand, which is [...]
Deutsche Bank’s Numis acquisition a step closer to completion following AGM June 21, 2023 Numis shareholders waved through Deutsche Bank’s takeover offer in its annual general meeting today. The vote passed through the court meeting with nearly 98 per cent support and secured the approval of over 99.9 per cent of shareholders at the AGM. The scheme empowers the board to take all necessary actions to complete the deal. [...]
Gemfields unveils bumper £63.1m sales as rubies prove recession resistant June 21, 2023 Gemfields has announced a hefty hike in revenues at its latest ruby auction, with buyers embracing coloured gemstones.
Shadow banks need ‘increased resilience’ to avoid financial stability concerns, Bank of England warns June 21, 2023 The Bank of England’s Lee Foulger warned there needed to be “increased levels of resilience” in the shadow bank space to avoid risks to financial stability. With increased regulation of the traditional financial sector since the financial crisis, Foulger, a director, financial stability, strategy and risk. said “it is no surprise that over that time [...]
Revolution or all-out war? Firm brands ‘hostile’ Boohoo coup ‘self-serving and opportunistic’ June 21, 2023 All eyes turn to the AGM of troubled fashion giant Revolution Beauty as it hit back at “hostile” shareholder Boohoo ,labelling its attempted coup as “opportunistic” and “self-serving”. Boohoo, which holds a 26.6 per cent stake in the Revolution, revealed it would vote against chief executive Bob Holt, chairman Derek Zissman and chief financial officer [...]
