Mark Zuckerberg is selling £1.4bn Facebook stake Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is to sell 41.4m of his shares in the company, worth around $2.3bn (£1.4bn). That's part of an offering of 70m Class A common shares, according to a SEC filing. We expect that the majority of the net proceeds Mr. Zuckerberg will receive upon such sale will be used to [...]
Treasury Select Committee spot opens up: Who will replace Brooks Newmark? Another reshuffle, another spot open on the Treasury Select Committee (TSC). The promotion of Brooks Newmark to minister for civil society leaves a hole to fill. Newmark takes with him his experience in the world of private equity, having worked as a senior partner at Apollo Management. It's not been long since the last election [...]
Avoiding armageddon: Why preventing disasters may not be worth the cost June 18, 2014 Undergraduate economists often set a simple problem. When faced with a natural disaster, is government intervention worthwhile? Simple cost-benefit analyses will often do the job. The 1998 action flick Armageddon presents just such a problem. A giant asteroid is headed towards earth, and is likely to end all human life. In that instance, the answer [...]
Bank of England hints at interest rate hike in committee minutes June 18, 2014 The minutes of the UK's interest-rate setting committee show signs that an interest rate hike could finally be approaching. Members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to hold policy at its 5 June meeting, keeping interest rates at their historic lows and the level of asset purchases unchanged. But the minutes yet again [...]
How Mark Carney’s move from Canada cost the Bank of England over £100k June 17, 2014 The Bank of England paid £102,816 to assist governor Mark Carney and his family in their move from Ottawa, Canada, to London, according to the Bank of England's latest annual report. The ex-Goldman Sachs staffer moved over to the UK with his wife Diana and four daughters last year. He even brought with him his [...]
More than 330 Bank of England staffers are paid £100k or more. Here’s how their salaries break down June 17, 2014 Central banking may be more lucrative than you think. According to the Bank of England's 2014 annual report, hundreds of staff are on six-figure salaries. The Bank's most well known names all seem to make the list. Bank governor Mark Carney is on annual salary of £320,000, with a total remuneration package of £586,010. Including [...]
Inflation falls to 1.5pc as “Easter effect” subsides June 17, 2014 Inflation has dropped sharply in May, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics. Headline annual consumer price inflation (CPI) has dropped to 1.5 per cent, a much lower increase in the price level than had been forecast. That's the lowest CPI reading for nearly five years, and well below the Bank [...]
Credit Suisse hit with £2.4m fine by FCA over misleading promotions June 16, 2014 Credit Suisse International (CSI) has been struck with a £2,398,100 fine by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for failing to ensure that financial promotions for CSI's Cliquet product were "clear, fair and not misleading". Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has also been fined £1,429,000 over the same matter. The Cliquet product was described as a capital [...]
Pound touches $1.70 level for first time since August 2009 June 16, 2014 For the first time in nearly five years, the pound has briefly touched the psychologically significant $1.70 mark. It's now back to trading just below that level, at a fraction over $1.69. The currency has seen renewed strength against the dollar since Bank of England governor Mark Carney made his first hawkish comments in the [...]
