It’s up to the City to drive Britain’s economic recovery October 19, 2020 “The harder yards are ahead of us,” warned Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey recently, as Britain’s households and businesses brace themselves for a bitter winter in the midst of the pandemic. With the UK’s economic recovery already fragile, it is clear we need to identify the engines for growth that can weather the storm [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks climb as investor fears ease October 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 rebounded as investors returned to risk assets, having dumped them yesterday amid worries over new coronavirus restrictions, while US stocks rose on vaccine hopes and upbeat retail sales data. London’s main stock index climbed 1.7 per cent in afternoon trading to stand at 5,929 points. That followed a 1.7 per cent tumble [...]
Banks not ready for negative interest rates, says Natwest chairman October 15, 2020 British banks are not ready to implement negative interest rates, the chairman of Natwest said today. “We’re not completely ready for it,” Howard Davies said during an interview. “There would be technical issues and many contractual issues.” The chairman said he was not in favour of negative rates being introduced, telling Bloomberg Radio there was [...]
Beware the risk to economic stability if banks are asked to shoulder the full burden of Covid-19 October 15, 2020 The economic cost of Covid-19 has been — and will continue to be — immense. As the Bank of England publishes its surveys on bank liabilities and credit conditions today, it is a reminder that much of that cost will fall on the financial sector, and within that, on the larger banks. But how that [...]
Mayfair hedge fund takes £140m stake in British Airways owner October 15, 2020 One of the UK’s largest hedge funds has taken out a large position in embattled British Airways owner IAG amid the worst crisis in aviation history. £35bn Marshall Wace today disclosed a three per cent stake in the airlines group, making it one of IAG’s largest stockholders. The Mayfair-based fund has previously taken out short [...]
EU watchdog proposes software capital relief to increase banks’ safety buffers October 14, 2020 The European banking watchdog has proposed allowing lenders to include the value of software investments in capital calculations, a move that could increase banks’ capital buffers by billions of euros. The European Banking Authority (EBA) said lenders will be allowed to “amortise” or taper the value of software for capital purposes over three years. Under [...]
EU markets watchdog working on ‘Plan B’ to move euro clearing from London October 14, 2020 The European markets watchdog is working on a “Plan B” that would move clearing of euro-denominated derivatives out of London if the bloc decides not to grant the UK long-term access to its markets. The London Stock Exchange’s LCH unit has been given permission by the bloc to continue clearing derivatives for EU customers for [...]
OECD: UK should focus on unemployed until recovery established October 14, 2020 The UK should do more to help those who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and wait to fix the hole in its public finances until the recovery is underway, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said. The UK’s economy is at “a critical juncture”, the organisation warned in an annual [...]
Andrew Bailey says Bank of England ‘not there yet’ on negative interest rates October 13, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the BoE is not yet in a position to decide whether it should cut interest rates in negative territory, as there is more work to be done on what effects they might have. It comes after the Bank sent a letter to lenders yesterday asking them about [...]
Trading surge boosts JP Morgan but Citigroup’s profit suffers October 13, 2020 JP Morgan’s third-quarter results beat analysts’ expectations as trading revenue was lifted by a recovery in global markets despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Its Wall Street rival Citigroup fared less well, however, with profit slipping 34 per cent despite credit costs stabilising. JP Morgan’s net income rose to $9.44bn (£7.25bn) from $9.1bn a year earlier. [...]