St Mary Axe set to be closed to cars in peak times for trial period February 26, 2020 The City’s St Mary Axe is set to be pedestrianised at peak times for a trial period as the Square Mile moves closer to a future with less cars on the roads. The City of London Corporation has moved plans forward to close the street to cars for most of the work day for a [...]
Brexit: EU calls Downing Street’s bluff on standards February 26, 2020 Brussels accepts Downing Street’s pledge not to cut red tape in a bid to become “some sort of Singapore-on-Thames” – but there must still be common “ground rules” in order to strike a trade deal, Michel Barnier has said. In a shift away from increasingly hostile briefings ahead of talks next week, the EU’s chief [...]
Metro Bank shares plumb new depths after challenger bank swings to £131m loss February 26, 2020 Metro Bank will slash its growth plans after plunging to a £131m pre-tax loss in 2019, a devastating year in which an accounting scandal sent shares plunging and led to an exodus of the bank’s top brass. Shares in the company fell as much as 19 per cent in morning trading to an all-time low [...]
As Aston Villa brace for the Carabao Cup final, is a trophy more important than Premier League survival? February 26, 2020 The magic of a Wembley cup final is difficult to replicate but the importance of winning domestic silverware appears to have become increasingly secondary to the need to remain in the Premier League. For the thousands of Aston Villa fans set to descend on London this Sunday for the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, [...]
Coronavirus: Mipim organisers insist event will go ahead February 26, 2020 Organisers of the international property conference Mipim have insisted the event will go ahead in Cannes next month despite a spike in coronavirus cases in Europe. In a statement yesterday event organisers said that Mipim 2020 “will be open for business” from 10 March, saying “all clients who are not affected by national or local [...]
Lloyd’s of London to launch electronic exchange pilot February 26, 2020 Lloyd’s of London today said it will pilot an electronic exchange to handle insurance risks this year. The 330-year old insurance market said it has taken a 40 per cent stake in an existing electronic placement system, PPL, which will form the basis of its new complex insurance risks platform. Lloyd’s said it was moving [...]
FTSE 100 steadies after two days of steep losses February 26, 2020 The FTSE 100 steadied after dropping to a 13-month low earlier in the day after two days of heavy losses prompted by growing fears over a coronavirus pandemic. London’s blue-chip stock index fell 1.6 per cent to below 7,000 points to 6,903, its lowest point since February 2019, before recovering 0.1 per cent. The FTSE [...]
Chrysalis Records relaunches with Laura Marling deal February 26, 2020 Iconic record label Chrysalis Records today announced its relaunch as an active label, signing up British singer songwriter Laura Marling. Chrysalis, which was founded in 1968, pioneered some of the biggest artists in the 70s and 80s, including Billy Idol, Blondie and Sinead O’Connor. The relaunch marks the first time in more than two decades [...]
RMT calls on government to avoid ‘reanimating the corpse’ of rail franchising February 26, 2020 Rail union RMT has called on the government to commit to a full renationalisation of the UK’s railways ahead of the imminent Williams review into the franchising system. Although the review is expected to lead to an “overhaul” of the current system, RMT says that the concession model that is widely touted as the government’s [...]
US stocks rally as investors try to price coronavirus damage February 26, 2020 US stock markets rallied soon after the bell and European equities recovered from sharp early falls as investors weighed up the effect coronavirus on the global economy. The Nasdaq index, which is dominated by global tech companies, jumped 1.8 per cent soon after Wall Street opened. The S&P 500 followed suit with a 1.5 per [...]