Bank of England risks steering UK into needless recession with more interest rate hikes June 20, 2023 Back in November, the Bank of England took the highly unusual step of explicitly telling financial markets to calm their sky high bets on where interest rates might end up. “Should the economy evolve broadly in line with the latest monetary policy report projections, further increases in bank rate may be required for a sustainable [...]
Fighting for low tax rates is so 2010, now the game is in offering the best incentives June 20, 2023 Gone are the days when countries jostled for the lowest tax rate to attract investment, now companies are looking for the best packages of incentives, and governments are delivering, writes Tim Sarson
Damp squib? Private equity frenzy fails to materialise as interest rate pain scuppers deals June 20, 2023 A much anticipated take-private frenzy from dealmakers in Europe has failed to materialise this year as rising interest rates dampen the appetite for debt-fuelled takeovers, analysts have said.
MPs vote to sanction Boris Johnson after ‘damning’ privileges committee report June 19, 2023 Boris Johnson will no longer have a pass to Parliament after MPs voted to back sanctions against him in the apparent final chapter of his parliamentary career. Watched over by Sir Ian McKellen, MPs debated the privileges committee report which ruled the former prime minister had “deliberately misled” and committed “serious contempt”. It followed an [...]
TSB becomes latest bank to press pause on some mortgage lending June 19, 2023 TSB has become the latest lender to press pause on sales of some of its mortgages. The bank said it was removing some mortgages from sale as of 4pm on Monday. The changes apply to products sold both direct and via brokers and TSB is expecting to reintroduce residential deals on Wednesday. For residential mortgages, [...]
Wetherspoon boss: Brits will have to get used to an £8 pint June 19, 2023 Wetherspoon CEO Tim Martin has warned Brits that a pint will “quite probably” hit £8 – but he’ll try and keep prices lower in his own pubs. Breweries have been upping prices in recent months as a result of higher energy costs and price pressure in the supply chain. A number of breweries are reportedly [...]
UK must balance innovation with safety to help firms adopt AI, tech bosses say June 19, 2023 The UK must not let safety concerns about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) fall by the wayside as it pushes for a pro-innovation model for regulating the technology, tech bosses have warned. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has reportedly told ministers to speed up the adoption of AI across the private and public sector, including the [...]
Bitcoin supply on exchanges hits three-year low, as BlackRock files for spot Bitcoin ETF June 19, 2023 Data from CryptoCompare shows that the price of the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) started the week with a drop from around $26,000.
Pinewood-owner Aermont to enter £4bn race for Center Parcs June 19, 2023 Specialist real estate investor Aermont is likely to join the £4bn race for holiday resort chain Center Parcs, as reported by Sky News. Aermont, which operates in Europe, would join confirmed bidders KSL Capital Partners operating with Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation, and buyout giant CVC Capital Partners. Former Center Parcs owner Blackstone and infrastructure fund Antin are [...]
IMF working on global platform for exchange of CBDCs to avoid economic fragmentation June 19, 2023 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working on a platform to enable countries to transfer transactions between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) from different countries. According to Reuters, managing director Kristalina Georgiva said “CBDCs should not be fragmented national propositions…To have more efficient and fairer transactions we need systems that connect countries: we need interoperability.” [...]