HBOS report: Crisis probe is the Never-Ending Story November 19, 2015 It has been 2,617 days since Lloyds TSB’s merger with HBOS was struck. Today – at last – we will get the fullest account yet of why HBOS needed rescuing in the first place. The delay in publication isn’t the least shocking aspect of Britain’s banking crisis. If the purpose of such inquiries is to [...]
Capgemini: The finance industry can’t afford to ignore bitcoin technology blockchain November 18, 2015 Blockchain technology is winning new friends by the day, with computer consultancy Capgemini announcing in a fresh report that financial services can no longer “afford to ignore” the distributed ledger technology that underpins bitcoin. Calling blockchain a “fundamental” shift for the finance industry, the report suggests that distributed ledgers will both slash costs and be [...]
Pound jumps as Bank of England’s Ben Broadbent tells City analysts to take the yield curve with a grain of salt November 18, 2015 Investors, analysts and economists are at risk of making big mistakes if they rely on the interest rate on short-term government bonds as an accurate forecast for when Bank of England interest rates will rise, a Bank official has warned – despite the fact the Bank uses it in its own economic predictions. The warning comes after a major shift in [...]
UK house prices will continue climbing, but don’t expect rates to be hiked as a result November 18, 2015 The housing market has always been key to the UK economy. People who move house often undertake home improvements, and strong demand (in theory) leads to more houses being built, both of which boost GDP. Given the major impact this can have on future interest rates, the UK housing market has traditionally been crucial for [...]
Trump Street near Bank of England reopened by City of London police after fears of a suspicious vehicle November 18, 2015 City of London Police have reopened a street near to the Bank of England, after fearing there had been a "suspicious vehicle" parked on the road. Trump Street, a small off-road which runs parallel to Cheapside towards the BoE, was closed to both vehicles and pedestrians, police said. Police officers attended the area, where they determined that the vehicle [...]
Deflation station: Fidelity International’s Maike Currie explains where to invest in a world of no inflation November 18, 2015 It is likely that I will have to write further open letters to you over the coming months…” If you think these are the words of a hopeless romantic penning a letter to their long-distance love, you’re wrong. It’s the Bank of England governor Mark Carney, writing to chancellor George Osborne to explain why [...]
We’ve nothing to fear from job-killing automation – and the pace of change will be manageable too November 17, 2015 The chief economist of the Bank of England Andy Haldane has been in the news with his prediction that up to 15m jobs in the UK are at risk of being lost to automation. This is a huge number, around half the total number of people in work today. Haldane injected a note [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: Chancellor George Osborne hires Rothschild to look into selling off Land Registry November 17, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is once again considering privatising the Land Registry, hiring bankers to look at selling off the state-owned agency. The government has reportedly asked Rothschild, the investment bank, to consider options for selling Land Registry, which is part of the department for business, innovation and skills and maintains records of all property transactions [...]
UK inflation stays at -0.1 per cent in October as food and booze prices fall November 17, 2015 Just in time for Christmas. Prices in the UK fell for the second consecutive month in October, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed this morning. The annual inflation rate was -0.1 per cent, led by sharper falls in the prices of food and booze and a slower rise in tobacco prices. Food prices were down three [...]
Australia’s Michael Cheika becomes latest international heavyweight to rule himself out of England job November 16, 2015 England's search for a new head coach was dealt a further blow yesterday after Australia’s Michael Cheika became the latest international heavyweight to rule himself out of contention. Cheika had emerged as one of the leading candidates to succeed Stuart Lancaster, having revived Australia’s fortunes since taking over from Ewen McKenzie in October 2014 and [...]