Covid-19, a year on: The Corporation and the State March 22, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks back at the last year of the pandemic and Covid restrictions and takes stock of its impact on industries and issues at the heart of British society. Read more: Read the full Covid-19, a year on series here. The state and the market have long been locked in a cautious dance. [...]
Treasury mulls slashing higher-rate tax relief on pensions contributions March 20, 2021 The Treasury is reportedly considering huge cuts to tax relief on pensions contributions amid the spiralling cost of measures brought in during the pandemic. On 23 March, which has been dubbed “tax day”, the Treasury will announce new consultations on proposed taxation reforms, which could include reforms to pension tax. When people pay into their [...]
Hybrid work: flexibility must be at the core of the future of work but not at the expense of culture March 19, 2021 Earlier this week, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey predicted a “hybrid” model would come to shape the way we work, with employees splitting their time between the home and office. He doesn’t expect working practice to return to pre-Covid. Over the last few years, advances in technology had already made remote working a possibility, [...]
Panic reflation, oil plunge and Bitcoin-led chip shortage March 19, 2021 Market sentiment is mixed this Friday morning. The Powell boost did not last long on the US equities which returned to the reflation setup. Investors sold tech stocks aggressively, sending Nasdaq 3 per cent lower during Thursday’s trading session. The S&P500 shed 1.48 per cent, as Dow Jones (-0.46 per cent) remained somehow resilient to [...]
Winners of the 23rd Awards For Achievement announced! March 18, 2021 23rd Awards For Achievement– Winners announced Women in Banking and Finance today held its 23rd Annual Awards for Achievement, marking its 40th anniversary while celebrating the achievements of four individuals and a team for their work promoting diversity and gender equality in banking and finance. With Citi as headline sponsor, hosted by Kate Thornton, broadcaster [...]
FTSE 100 recovers after Bank of England holds interest rates March 18, 2021 London stocks recovered this afternoon after suffering a drop following the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates indicated the pace of Britain’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The BoE kept its stimulus programme unchanged this afternoon ahead of an expected recovery in Britain’s economy later this year, helped by the fast rollout [...]
Bank of England’s Andy Haldane predicts “rapid-fire” recovery March 18, 2021 Bank of England’s Andy Haldane predicts “rapid-fire” recovery
‘Electric or bust’ for National Grid as it snaps up Western Power Distribution for £8bn March 18, 2021 National Grid shocked the system this morning when it announced it would buy Western Power Distribution (WPD), the holding company of Britain’s largest electricity distribution business, from US-based company PPL in a £7.8bn deal. Moreover, National Grid agreed to sell The Narragansett Electric Company (NECO) to PPL Energy Holdings, also a subsidiary of PPL, for an [...]
BoE keeps rates steady and dampens expectations of imminent change March 18, 2021 The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.1 per cent and its bond-buying programme at £895bn, thereby diminishing expectations of changes in the immediate future, with the next announcement not until 6 May. The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep rates at record-low levels. Analysts expected today’s decisions to be [...]
Analysts: Inflation in focus as BoE delivers monetary policy verdict March 18, 2021 The Bank of England is expected to focus on inflation when it publishes its latest monetary policy decisions at noon, according to analysts. Barret Kupelian, senior economist at PwC, said that vaccine rollouts, GDP data and positive Budget measures will “tilt the balance of risks to the UK economy towards the upside”. “As a result, [...]