Three more companies ditch sponsorship of Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace scheme November 19, 2019 Three more companies said they would no longer support Prince Andrew’s entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace, a day after KPMG jumped ship. International banking giant Standard Chartered was the first to pull the plug. A spokesman confirmed: “We won’t be renewing the sponsorship when it ends in February.” Read more: Corporate sponsors look to desert Prince Andrew’s [...]
John McDonnell says Labour will break up Big Four ‘cartel’ November 19, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell today promised to break up the “cartel” of the Big Four accounting firms if Labour wins the upcoming election. “Under Labour the Big Four companies will not be allowed to continue to act like a cartel,” McDonnell told a Westminster audience during a speech on Labour’s plans for the economy. The [...]
The economy is slowing – can central bankers fight the next downturn? November 19, 2019 The global economy has not had a good year, to put it mildly. Trade-war uncertainty and Chinese weakness have taken a heavy toll, with growth in 2019 set to be the worst since the financial crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund. Such an environment has produced many doomsters and gloomsters, to use Boris Johnson’s [...]
Lloyds shareholders lose £385m HBOS High Court case November 15, 2019 Lloyds shareholders today lost a £385m High Court case against the bank’s acquisition of HBOS at the height of the financial crisis. England’s highest court rejected a claim from a group of 5,803 investors that they were “mugged” when the bank recommended the 2009 deal without revealing the state of HBOS’ finances. Read more: First [...]
UK inflation falls to near three-year low as energy prices are capped November 13, 2019 UK inflation fell to its slowest rate in almost three years in October, official figures showed today, as growth was held back by the energy price cap. Read more: UK suffers biggest fall in jobs in four years The consumer price index (CPI) – a gauge of how much prices have risen over the year [...]
London house prices suffer UK’s biggest September drop November 13, 2019 House prices in London suffered the biggest September drop in the UK, according to the latest data. Homes in the capital fell 0.4 per cent year on year that month, compared to house prices’ average increase of one per cent in England. That left London house prices with an average value of £474,601. UK house [...]
FCA looks to clean up its act amid ‘shameful’ office mess November 12, 2019 The City watchdog found itself in the spotlight today amid tales of overflowing bins, booze and messy toilets at its HQ. A letter from the FCA’s operating chief, seen by the Evening Standard, detailed the “shameful” situation which included “defecating on the floor in toilet cubicles” and “leaving alcohol bottles in sanitary bins”. Read more: [...]
What now as monetary policy runs its course? November 12, 2019 The UK looks set to reverse the course of austerity with all parties planning to ramp-up spending as the reality of a huge Brexit upheaval puts the pressure on both the treasury and Bank of England. However, despite the recovery seen in the post-2008 world, we have seen little upside in terms of interest rates [...]
Four charts that explain the UK economy’s latest slowdown November 11, 2019 Annual growth in the UK economy fell to its slowest pace in nine years in the third quarter, data showed today, although the country avoided slipping into a recession. Read more: UK avoids recession but annual growth hits slowest pace in a decade “This slowdown follows not only Brexit uncertainty at home, but a weaker [...]
UK avoids recession but annual growth slowest in almost a decade November 11, 2019 The UK economy avoided falling into recession in the third quarter of the year, official figures have shown today, but annual growth slipped to its slowest pace in nine years. A pick up in the giant services sector and a return to growth in construction boosted the economy, but the malaise in manufacturing continued with [...]