No-deal Brexit fears trigger sell-off of Barclays, Lloyds and RBS shares December 17, 2019 Shares in Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) all slumped in early trading after Boris Johnson brought back the spectre of a no-deal Brexit today. The trio failed to impress in yesterday’s Bank of England stress tests, where analysts warned that a strategy to double a 100-basis point capital buffer designed to protect [...]
BoE: UK lenders can withstand disastrous recession December 16, 2019 The UK’s biggest lenders are strong enough to withstand a financial earthquake stronger than the one that rocked the City in 2008, the Bank of England’s annual stress test has found. Britain’s seven biggest banks could keep lending even if UK national income slumped 4.7 per cent, unemployment surged to 9.2 per cent, and world [...]
UK watchdogs propose major fund redemption changes December 16, 2019 The UK’s financial watchdogs have said funds with hard-to-sell assets should ensure investors cannot withdraw their money at very short notice or should offer a lower price for redemptions. The proposal came as part of a review into the sector following the failure of the flagship fund run by the once-lauded investor Neil Woodford, which [...]
Virgin Money share price falls after Barclays downgrade December 16, 2019 Shares in Virgin Money are down by more than five per cent today after Barclays downgraded its rating. Barclays analysts shifted Virgin Money’s stock from equal weight to underweight, signifying a pessimistic outlook, today. Read more: Virgin Money cancels dividend after £385m PPI hit The downgrade was made due to weak earnings, high growth in [...]
Outlook 2020: Global economy December 16, 2019 The global economy should perform better in 2020, underpinned by a US-China trade truce and lower interest rates, Schroders’ chief economist Keith Wade explains. We recently upgraded our 2020 global growth forecast to 2.6 per cent, due to prospects of a “phase one” US-China trade deal and lower US interest rates US interest rate cuts [...]
Bank of England set to hold interest rate ahead of next governor announcement December 15, 2019 The Bank of England is this week expected to hold interest rates at 0.75 per cent, despite pressure from some quarters for a further quarter-point cut. On Thursday the Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee, which is responsible for setting the interest rate, will announce its decision. Read more: Mark Carney appointed UN climate envoy ahead [...]
General Election 2019: Boris Johnson urges UK to ‘let healing begin’ December 13, 2019 This was a live blog, thank you for following along Read more: UK stocks and sterling surge as Tories triumph at pollsRead more: Election live: Who were the big MP casualties?Read more: UK housebuilders rejoice as shares rise after Tory win 04.30pm: Over and out! That’s it for today – we’re off to get some [...]
George Freeman: We can’t afford Corbyn December 12, 2019 Today voters will decide the future of our country not just for the next five years but for generations to come. The nightmare prospect of another hung parliament on Friday 13th that can only deliver more confusion, squabbling and delay is perilously close. The outcome of this election is too close to call — a [...]
Credit Suisse cuts profit targets and pivots away from coal December 11, 2019 Credit Suisse faces missed targets and losses next year, after the bank cut its profitability target for 2020. The Swiss bank expects return on tangible equity – a profitability metric – to be over eight per cent, a drop from previous expectations of 10-11 per cent. Read more: Credit Suisse profit doubles amid rise in [...]
Moody’s downgrades outlook for European banks amid slowdown December 11, 2019 Credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded its outlook for European banks to negative, predicting that weak economic growth will cause loan quality and profitability to suffer over the coming year. The agency has already downgraded its outlook for the UK, German and global banking systems, again citing weak growth and a highly uncertain 2020. Read [...]