Watchdog probes credit cards to see if borrowers are ripped off November 25, 2014 THE CREDIT card market is the latest sector to face an investigation, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said yesterday. It is investigating concerns over competition, transparency of charging, and loan affordability. The watchdog is in the process of clamping down on payday lenders, after receiving powers over consumer credit in April. Industry body the UK Cards Association said the [...]
US trade pact to open deals with the world November 25, 2014 EUROPE’S planned trade deal with the US could help to open the way for more deals with the developing world, the Confederation of British Industry said yesterday. Although global trade negotiations have ground to a halt, the business group hopes that a wide-ranging Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US could encourage further deals with countries [...]
Workers take more hours as economy grows November 25, 2014 BRITAIN’S economic recovery is taking more workers out of underemployment in the latest sign that employees are benefiting from the rebound, official data showed yesterday. Unemployment has dived rapidly this year, and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has indicated the quality of that work is also improving. A worker is classed as underemployed if [...]
Watchdog plans more stress tests November 24, 2014 Central counterparties (CCPs) need to show regulators clearer, tougher stress tests, the Bank of England’s David Bailey said yesterday. The Bank is finalising its stress tests of the banking system, and now wants to use the examinations more broadly across the system. “There is no requirement for CCPs to disclose the details of the stress [...]
McCafferty: Private sector data plugs holes in ONS’ statistics November 24, 2014 Official statistics do not give information on the vital “animal spirits” which hint at the future path of the economy, Bank of England policy maker Ian McCafferty said yesterday. He praised private sector surveys and the Bank’s direct contact with firms as ways to gain more information on sentiment in the wider economy, and to [...]
Citi fined $15m for poor control of its analysts November 24, 2014 Citi failed to monitor its analysts’ communications properly, allowing the staff to indirectly participate in clients’ flotations, a top US regulator said yesterday. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) fined Citigroup Global Markets $15m (£9.6m) for the failings from January 2005 to February 2014. The US bank sent around 100 warnings to staff over the [...]
Wages set to rise at last as the number of vacancies outstrips volume of jobseekers November 24, 2014 Britain’s recovery has pulled so many unemployed workers into jobs that there are now more vacancies than jobseekers, for the first time since the financial crisis struck, jobs website Adzuna said today. As a result, employers are increasing the wages on offer to new staff, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) expects pay rises [...]
Graduates and school leavers do not have skills employers need November 24, 2014 Employers are increasingly struggling to fill entry-level jobs as graduates and school-leavers are often lacking key skills, according to a Totaljobs.com report out today. One in seven firms has been unable to fill an entry-level vacancy in the past three years. At the same time, 15 per cent of recent graduates remain unemployed, and 20 [...]
MPs blast RBS dishonesty over help for small firms November 23, 2014 Top RBS executives deliberately misled MPs who were investigating allegations of the mistreatment of small firms, an influential committee claimed yesterday. Bosses at the bailed out bank told the Treasury Select Committee of MPs that its Global Restructuring Group (GRG) – meant to help turn around struggling firms – was not a profit centre. But [...]
Citi’s UK boss James Bardrick: The City won’t fall apart on a Brexit but Britain must do more to make EU work November 23, 2014 Britain’s increasingly fierce row over the EU can be highly polarised. Depending on who you listen to, the economy will either crumble and die outside Europe, or an exit will free the UK from the dead hand of Brussels and lead to a new golden era of trade and prosperity. Citi’s UK boss James [...]