Unfinished Business September 1, 2020 Back in 2015, I co-founded a challenger Bank called Starling with a super smart group of people (plus me) with different talents – mine was technology – and with a common drive, determination and goal ‘to change financial services for the better’. I think we went a long way in achieving that aim, helping people [...]
UK mortgage lending rises in July as housing market picks up post-lockdown September 1, 2020 UK mortgage lending accelerated in July, a latest sign of a post-lockdown bounce-back in the housing market, and consumers returned to borrowing, data from the Bank of England showed today. Mortgage approvals jumped to 66,300 from just under 40,000 in June and seven times higher than their coronavirus pandemic low of barely more than 9,000 [...]
Andrew Bailey says Bank of England ‘not out of firepower’ August 28, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the central bank is “not out of firepower” with which to tackle the coronavirus downturn “by any means”. In fact it seemed like the Bank underestimated the amount of firepower it had left before coronavirus hit, the governor told the online Jackson Hole economic policy symposium. Yet [...]
Coronavirus: Government to pay low income workers in self-isolation August 27, 2020 People on low incomes who are forced to self-isolate due to coronavirus will receive payments from the government as part of a new scheme. From Tuesday people who claim universal credit or working tax credit and cannot work from home will be entitled to up to £182 — equivalent to £13 per day. The scheme [...]
Jackson Hole symposium: All eyes on Fed chair Powell August 26, 2020 After an extremely busy few months, the world’s central bankers may have fancied a relaxing trip to the Teton mountain range in the US state of Wyoming. Yet it’s not to be. The coronavirus pandemic has forced this year’s Jackson Hole economic policy symposium to be held online on 27 and 28 August. Since 1982, [...]
A CEO’s guide to reaching net zero carbon emissions August 26, 2020 Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned last year that: “companies and industries that are not moving towards zero carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt.” I would add customers and employees to that statement: a Net Zero commitment is becoming an expectation for companies they will buy from or work [...]
Co-operative Bank to cut 350 jobs and close 18 branches after Covid hit August 25, 2020 The Co-operative Bank will lay off around 350 employees and shutter 18 branches as it struggles to deal with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, it said today. The lender said that record-low interest rates put in place to try to spur the economy had squeezed its income. “We are very sorry to announce [...]
British Business Bank issues 75,000th startup loan August 25, 2020 The British Business Bank has issued its 75,000th loan under its Start Up Loans programme, marking more than £623m invested in small business across the UK since its launch in 2012. The number of loans for small firms has risen sharply since the start of the pandemic. Between May and July a total of £31.9m [...]
JD Wetherspoon expects sales to fall once Eat Out to Help Out scheme ends August 24, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon today said it expects its sales to fall once the government subsidised Eat Out to Help Out scheme finishes. The scheme gives diners 50 per cent off up to £10 a head on meals bought at participating outlets on every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday throughout August. The business owners must then [...]
Coronavirus crisis: How far will the UK economy fall in 2020? August 24, 2020 HSBC last week became the latest big institution to downgrade its forecasts for the UK economy and disagree strongly with the Bank of England’s rosy expectations. It said the historic 20.4 per cent slump in GDP in the second quarter “was worse than we had expected”. The lender said it was therefore now “more pessimistic” [...]