Shadow banking assets grow to record global share as regulators urged to remain vigilant to risks February 4, 2019 Shadow banks have amassed their largest ever share of global financial assets as the Financial Stability Board urged regulators to “remain vigilant” to financial stability risks. The FSB’s annual monitoring report revealed that non-banks’ assets grew to $116.6 trillion (£89 trillion) in 2017, representing 30.5 per cent of global financial assets. Non-banks, the term now [...]
Metro Bank admits accounting error was found by Bank of England, sending shares to record lows January 31, 2019 Metro Bank shares have slid to record lows after the company admitted an accounting error it reported last week was actually uncovered by the Bank of England. Chief executive Craig Donaldson had insisted the mistakes, in the way it classified loans, were found by the bank’s own staff through an internal review. Read more: Metro Bank [...]
Gold rush: Central banks turn to precious metal at fastest rate in 50 years to avoid global volatility January 31, 2019 The world’s central banks bought more gold last year than at any point in nearly half a century as emerging countries looked for somewhere to shelter against international tension. Buying rose 74 per cent, making 2018 the second highest year on record just below 1971 when the US abandoned the gold standard. Read more: Gold rises [...]
Law firm DWF announces intention to float in UK’s largest legal listing January 31, 2019 Law firm DWF yesterday announced its intention to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in what would make it by far the largest law firm to go public worldwide. The firm would become just the sixth publicly traded UK law firm, the first to list on the main market and the [...]
Venezuela braced for more protests as Maduro rules out snap election January 30, 2019 Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro today said he is ready to negotiate with the country’s opposition but dismissed calls for a snap election. The socialist leader said calls for early elections amounted to blackmail and insisted a vote will not take place until 2025, RIA Novosti reported. Read more: Labour leadership accused of 'weasel words' over Venezuela [...]
Lending to consumers slows as credit card borrowing falls amid Brexit uncertainty January 30, 2019 Lending to British consumers grew at its slowest rate in four years in December, as credit card borrowing fell sharply in the run up to Brexit. Annual consumer credit growth slowed to 6.6 per cent, the Bank of England said. Credit card borrowing was “particularly weak”, the bank said, and households put more money into [...]
Personal insolvencies reach seven-year high as credit squeezed and wages stagnate January 29, 2019 The number of people in England and Wales turning to insolvency to deal with debt problems has risen to a seven-year high as consumer credit tightens and wages stagnate. There were 34,108 individual insolvencies in the fourth quarter, an increase of 34.8 per cent on the third quarter. In 2018 the number of people who [...]
Gold rises to eight-month high as Huawei tensions weigh on dollar January 29, 2019 Gold prices reached their highest point in over eight months today after the dollar fell on worries over US-China relations. The metal rose to $1,309 per ounce in the early afternoon, a 0.69 per cent rise. Read more: Row over Bank of England's Venezuelan gold heats up as senior Tory MP writes to Carney The boost [...]
Row over Bank of England’s Venezuelan gold heats up as senior Tory MP writes to Carney January 28, 2019 The row over the Bank of England’s handling of Venezuelan gold escalated tonight after the former chair of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee revealed he had written to governor Mark Carney expressing his concerns over the arrangement. Senior Tory MP Crispin Blunt urged the governor to block President Nicolas Maduro’s attempts to take back the gold, [...]
We’re not as stuck as the Brexit blues would have you believe January 28, 2019 IF YOU’RE looking for a meaningful vote of confidence tomorrow, look elsewhere than the sentiments of our 650 MPs. Instead try the 650,000 British businesses registered last year – each one a vote of confidence in the future. But when you’re surrounded by extremes, it’s hard not to get swept away by it all. As [...]