Just Group completes £375m fundraising to meet new regulations March 25, 2019 Retirement services firm Just Group shares fell again this morning as it announced it had completed a £375m fundraise to comply with new capital requirement rules. The firm, which unveiled heavy 2018 pre-tax losses earlier this month, said it had issued £300m worth of bonds and raised an extra £75m via an equity placing. Read [...]
London tourism industry pivots to long-haul markets in the face of Brexit March 24, 2019 Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the royal family: London is blessed with renowned attractions wrapped in tradition and heritage most cities can only dream of. But with Brexit looming, the UK tourism industry, which supports more than one tenth of the country’s jobs, has hit turbulence. Almost every industry representative I spoke with used the [...]
Monetary policy is no job for the politicians March 22, 2019 At a time of such sweeping uncertainty, anything predictable is reassuring. This week, that reassurance came from the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, which yesterday voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold. This had been widely expected, but that doesn’t mean that central bank decisions should be taken for granted. Across the Atlantic, the [...]
Sterling slides to fresh one-week low against dollar as Brexit clouds gather March 21, 2019 The pound slid against the dollar this afternoon to hit a fresh one-week low after French President Emmanuel Macron said Britain “will be going to a no deal” if Parliament again rejects the Brexit agreement. Sterling was down 0.8 per cent today against the dollar as traders reacted badly to continued uncertainty in the Brexit saga. [...]
No-deal Brexit would ‘significantly’ hurt the EU, Barclays chairman warns March 21, 2019 A no deal Brexit would "very significantly" hurt the EU, outgoing Barclays chairman John McFarlane warned. The bank's chairman, who will step down in May, also said a financial services deal would be struck between the UK and the EU whatever the outcome of Brexit. Read more: Bank of England holds interest rates amid Brexit deadlock [...]
Bank of England holds interest rates amid Brexit deadlock despite sunnier economic data March 21, 2019 The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) has voted unanimously to hold interest rates at their current level of 0.75 per cent, after weighing up “mixed” economic data, it said today. Read more: Government borrowing falls to fresh 17-year low The central bank said it will not change its primary bank rate from where [...]
Report predicts sluggish UK growth and lower consumer spending March 21, 2019 Britain’s economic growth is due to slow in 2019 as political uncertainty bites, professional services giant PwC has said, making it the latest forecaster to predict sluggish growth for the country. Consumer spending growth is also predicted to slump to 1.4 per cent in 2019, from 1.9 per cent the year before, according to PwC’s [...]
City A.M.’s rate-setting committee vote to hold interest rates as Brexit uncertainty peaks March 20, 2019 The Bank of England must hold interest rates as Brexit uncertainty looks set to continue beyond 29 March, City economists have said. The Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) will announce its decision at midday on Thursday and is expected to leave rates unchanged at 0.75 per cent. Read more: Bank of England leaves policy unchanged [...]
Inflation edges up from two-year low as food and alcohol prices rise March 20, 2019 The UK inflation rate edged up from two-year lows last month as food and alcohol prices rose. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 1.9 per cent in February, up from 1.8 per cent in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read more: UK inflation falls close to a two-year low Rising [...]
DEBATE: Will the UK’s strong employment landscape be able to withstand the shock of a no-deal Brexit? March 20, 2019 Will the UK’s strong employment landscape be able to withstand the shock of a no-deal Brexit? Lee Biggins, founder and chief executive of CV-Library, says YES. While there’s no guarantee that the jobs boom will last if we came crashing out of the EU, the labour market has stood strong in the face of uncertainty [...]