SPAC frenzy holds valuable lessons for the UK May 6, 2021 The explosive growth in Special Acquisition Purpose Company (SPAC) listings – shell companies listed on the stock exchange with the purpose of ‘reversing-in’ to another company and taking it public by the backdoor, has so far been a purely US phenomenon. However, other markets are now catching on. The value of listings by SPACs grew [...]
Owner of ailing Liberty Steel in talks for £200m lifeline May 6, 2021 The owner of Liberty Steel is reportedly in talks about a £200m loan facility from California-based investment firm White Oak Global Advisors. The BBC first reported the arrangement is in its early stages, however a skeleton agreement has been drafted. Any agreement would need to be approved owner Gupta Family Group’s creditors which include Credit [...]
Early London mayor election in-person turnout just 12 per cent of 2016 May 6, 2021 Internal Labour polling numbers are showing in-person turnout as of noon in today’s London mayor election was just 11.6 per cent of the total 2016 turnout, raising fears among Sadiq Khan’s camp about a surprise defeat. It is expected there will be many more postal votes this year, due to Covid-19, however it is unknown [...]
HMRC’s fraud hotline inundated with 91,000 calls in first nine months of pandemic May 6, 2021 HMRC’s fraud hotline received more than 91,000 calls during the first nine months of the pandemic, with concerns about furlough fraud likely to be behind many of the calls. On average 10,000 calls per month were made to HMRC’s hotline from April to December 2020, according to HMRC figures, an increase of around 1,000 calls [...]
New City of London Corporation Finance Committee Chairman elected May 6, 2021 Jamie Ingham Clark has today [6 May] been elected as the new Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Finance Committee. Jamie, who previously served as Deputy Chairman, will lead the Committee responsible for stewardship of the City Corporation’s funds. The Committee aims to ensure the organisation achieves value for money in all its activities and maintains a [...]
Five things to look for in the ‘super Thursday’ UK elections May 6, 2021 Around 48m people in the UK will be eligible to vote in elections today in what is being dubbed “super Thursday”. This includes Holyrood elections in Scotland, Welsh Senedd elections, Hartlepool’s by-election and mayoral contests in London, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Tees Valley, Liverpool, West Yorkshire. There will also be more than 100 council elections [...]
Mixed mood among voters as Londoners go to the polls: ‘The City needs to be reborn’ May 6, 2021 Londoners are flocking to polling stations across the capital today to decide on their next mayor. Frontrunner Sadiq Khan said this morning that the election was “going down to the wire” and called it a two-horse race between himself and Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey. In the City, the mood was mixed. Insurance broker Trevor McGarry, [...]
US jobless claims fall to 13-month lows as reopening continues apace May 6, 2021 The fewest Americans applied for unemployment benefits as have done so in 13 months last week, new data from the US Labor Department shows. Initial claims fell from 590,000 to 498,000 in the week ending 1 May, the figures show, below economists’ forecasts. The number was one of several pieces of economic data that suggested [...]
Ex-John Lewis MD to lead Sainsbury’s £7.8bn clothing and homewares unit May 6, 2021 Former John Lewis managing director Paula Nickolds has joined Sainsbury’s to lead the supermarket’s general merchandise and clothing business. Nickolds left John Lewis in January last year, after 25 years with the firm, as the department store chain issued a profit warning. She had been set to become executive director of brand and marketing as [...]
FTSE 100 rises slightly after Bank of England decision May 6, 2021 The FTSE 100 rose slightly this afternoon after the Bank of England monetary policy committee decided to hold interest rates at 0.1 per cent. Across the Atlantic, trading was also stagnant, with Wall Street’s main markets flat at the open. By the early afternoon, London’s premier index was up 0.1 per cent down at 7,047.31, [...]
