UK confidence in household finances hits record high February 17, 2020 UK households’ perceptions of their financial wellbeing rose to their highest ever levels this month in a sign of growing optimism over the UK’s economic prospects. IHS Markit’s UK Household Finance Index (HFI) – which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing – increased to 47.6 in February, up from 44.6 in January. Although the [...]
Storm Dennis causes travel disruption around the UK February 16, 2020 A record number of weather warnings have been issued in England as Storm Dennis continues to batter the UK. The Met Office has a yellow warning for much of the UK which extends to amber in parts of Southern England. Most train companies have reported disruption to their services and several incidents have occurred on [...]
Banknote printer De La Rue set for review of finances February 15, 2020 The Bank of England’s banknote printer, De La Rue, is set for talks with its lenders after calling in advisers to review the business. De La Rue’s banking syndicate, led by HSBC, has appointed FTI Consulting to negotiate the future of its borrowing arrangements with lenders, according to Sky News Last November, the firm said [...]
Now Mark Carney sees a silver lining to Brexit February 14, 2020 Mark Carney has said there may be a silver lining to Brexit for the UK economy. Speaking to Reuters, the outgoing Bank of England governor said there are some potential upsides for the economy from Brexit, in marked contrast to some of his previous comments on the decision to leave the EU. “In an environment [...]
Labour looks destined to sit out the next 10 years in political wilderness February 14, 2020 On Monday Lord Michael Ashcroft published a detailed and searingly honest critique of the Labour party’s failed 2019 election. Based on polling and focus groups of former Labour voters, he painted a picture of a party that had drifted so far away from the values and aspirations of ordinary people that its drubbing was inevitable. [...]
Barclays boss Jes Staley ‘deeply regrets’ Jeffrey Epstein links February 13, 2020 Barclays chief executive Jes Staley has said he “deeply regrets” his connection with Jeffrey Epstein after it emerged that British regulators are investigating his links with the convicted sex offender. Staley admitted this morning that he maintained contact with with the disgraced financier, who took his own life in a New York jail last year [...]
Coronavirus latest: UK ‘superspreader’ discharged from hospital February 12, 2020 This page collects all the latest news about the coronavirus outbreak, now called Covid-19 The man connected to 11 cases of the coronavirus has been discharged from hospital having made a full recovery from the illness. Business Steve Walsh, who contracted the illness on a work visit to Singapore before passing it to others on [...]
UK and EU must avoid a ‘punch-up’ over financial services, says incoming BoE governor Bailey February 12, 2020 Britain and the European Union must find a way to settle disagreements over how the UK’s finance industry can do business with the bloc without it descending into a “metaphorical punch-up”, said incoming Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. Bailey, who is currently head of the Financial Conduct Authority, also said it would be “hard [...]
Brexit: UK ‘optimistic’ on EU green light for derivatives trading February 12, 2020 The UK is “cautiously optimistic” it will get the EU’s permission for the City’s clearing houses to continue to process trillions of pounds of derivatives for EU customers after Brexit, Bank of England deputy governor Sam Woods said today. The London Stock Exchange’s LCH unit holds positions worth £57 trillion on behalf of clients in [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney says infrastructure investment needed to boost growth February 11, 2020 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said more public investment in infrastructure and higher corporate spending is needed to boost the UK’s struggling economy. Speaking to the House of Lords’ economic committee, Carney also said he expects interest rates to remain low for the foreseeable future as structural factors such as weak productivity weigh [...]