World’s biggest banks pushing for £4bn post-Brexit tax cuts to boost the City January 25, 2020 Some of the biggest banks in the world are set to demand tax cuts of up to £4bn per year following Brexit, having paid the Treasury tens of billions in additional levies since the financial crisis. Banks want the government to show its support for its “Global Britain” slogan by convincing global financial giants to [...]
FTSE 100 leaps after WHO eases coronavirus fears January 24, 2020 The FTSE 100 stormed ahead today, more than clawing back the losses incurred yesterday as investors’ fears over the spread of the coronavirus mounted. The World Health Organisation yesterday stopped short of declaring the outbreak in China an emergency for the rest of the world. European equities gained in response today, before posting further jumps [...]
Australian Dollar to GBP – Could this be one to watch? January 24, 2020 Singapore Dollar Fears of the coronavirus which has been spreading from China have affected global market sentiment. This week in Singapore December consumer price inflation results beat expectations; with food, transport, communication, and education costs the highlights. Beating November’s 0.6 per cent and the prediction of 0.7 per cent, December’s 0.8 per cent result is in line with the Monetary Authority of Singapore [...]
This week: Why the Pound shone over the Euro January 24, 2020 After a poor end to last week, the pound responded with a dominant performance this week, gaining an average of 0.8 per cent against the other major currencies. Indeed, it was only the Japanese yen that it lost out to (dropping 0.2 per cent). Such a performance has helped the pound climb to the top [...]
Top five investment risks for 2020: What they said at Davos and how they’ve changed in a decade January 24, 2020 As recently as ten years ago the environment didn’t register in the top risks for discussion at the World Economic Forum. Now it dominates. This has important implications for investors. This week the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) is taking place in Davos. Attendees include leaders from the worlds of politics and business who meet [...]
UK PMI: Economy climbs to 16-month high, leaving rate cut less likely January 24, 2020 The UK economy has returned to growth in January, according to a flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading, hitting a 16-month high as the Bank of England weighs up whether or not to cut UK interest rates. The flash IHS Markit / CIPS composite PMI reading for the UK hit 52.4 in January, up from [...]
Virgin Money begins the search for a new chairman January 24, 2020 Virgin Money today announced that its chairman, Jim Pettigrew, will be stepping down from his role. Pettigrew will retire in September 2021 – when his tenure on the board will hit the new nine-year limit for chairmen. Virgin Money said that Pettigrew’s departure is “in line with the board succession plan and good corporate governance [...]
FCA appoints interim chief executive to replace Andrew Bailey January 24, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that Christopher Woolard will take over as interim chief executive of the regulator after current boss Andrew Bailey leaves to become governor of the Bank of England (BoE). Woolard, who is currently the FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition, will take over after Bailey’s departure in March, [...]
Incoming BoE head Andrew Bailey to be grilled by LCF mini-bond investigation January 23, 2020 Incoming Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey will be interviewed about his oversight of collapsed investment firm London Capital and Finance (LCF), an independent investigation said today. LCF collapsed in January 2019, leaving 11,600 investors who bought its mini-bonds facing collective losses of up to £237m. While LCF itself and its marketing material was regulated [...]
Tighten scrutiny of City regulators after Brexit, major report says January 23, 2020 The government should increase the scrutiny of financial regulators once Britain leaves the EU and ensure UK rules take into account international finance standards, a major report into post-Brexit regulation has said. The report, from the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) and law firm Linklaters, said that after Brexit the UK’s financial regulation system will [...]