Bank of England bosses concerned banks’ financial stability buffers are not high enough July 3, 2018 Members of the Bank of England’s top financial stability body have expressed concerns that UK banks’ capital buffers may not be adequate in the face of riskier lending and increasing dangers to the global financial system. The Bank’s financial policy committee (FPC) maintained its countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) at one per cent, but “some members [...]
The digital revolution comes to healthcare: NHS unveils new app designed to empower patients July 2, 2018 The government has today unveiled plans for a free NHS mobile app to make accessing health services quicker and easier. Not only does the app give patients remote access to their medical records, it also allows them to make appointments with their GP and order repeat prescriptions as well as get medical advice from the [...]
Football fever can teach Britain a thing or two about optimism July 2, 2018 Despite the Belgian blip, England is in the last 16 of the World Cup. As the sunshine continues, we are having the best summer since 1976, following a royal wedding that was rich in spectacle, love, and meaning – and watched by millions around the world. As a nation, it was perhaps another landmark occasion, [...]
Last Week in the City: Amazon buys a pharmacy June 29, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (25 to 29 June 2018). The FTSE 100 traded little over the week, despite a rally in oil prices. There was more bad news from the retail sector after The John Lewis Partnership warned on profits [...]
The GKN break-up is a test for Melrose, don’t bank on a tax cut and Marc Bolland is not just any NED June 29, 2018 Vultures. Asset-strippers. Corporate predators. The board of Melrose has had these perjorative labels and more thrown at it in the months since its initial bid approach for GKN. This week’s approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of the £8bn takeover removed the final obstacle to a deal that elicited greater [...]
Editor’s Notes: The City is right to warn the EU against its own Brexit complacency, UBS’s forecasting woes and Xavier Rolet’s agricultural insight June 29, 2018 The heat is rising in the City, and not just because of the recent heatwave. On Wednesday, the normally mild-mannered chief of TheCityUK, the finance industry’s main lobby group, unleashed his frustration at EU regulators over their failure to meet the UK halfway on securing a legal basis for the continuation of cross-border contracts post-Brexit. [...]
Business and consumers’ confidence wanes as uncertainty dominates pre-Brexit outlook June 29, 2018 British consumers and businesses are battening down the hatches in the face of heightened uncertainty as Brexit approaches, new survey evidence suggests. A widely followed measure of British consumer confidence by data firm GfK, published today, fell by two points to a negative reading of nine, as people expressed growing concerns over the economy. A [...]
Bank of England warns on cryptocurrency risks June 28, 2018 The head of the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) Sam Woods wrote to chief executive officers (CEOs) of financial institutions today to warn of the risks of cryptocurrencies. The regulator, which is part of the Bank of England, warned that cryptocurrencies showed high price volatility and also raised concerns about vulnerability to fraud and manipulation as [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney adds voice to criticisms of EU for lack of movement on Brexit risks June 27, 2018 The City’s fightback against the EU’s Brexit warnings stepped up a gear today as Bank of England governor Mark Carney took to the field, warning that EU officials are not putting in sufficient effort to preserve financial stability post-Brexit. The EU has not matched commitments by the UK government to allow European firms to continue [...]
Banks to be subjected to ‘cyber stress tests’ to see if they could withstand a major hacking attack June 27, 2018 Financial services companies will be subject to “cyber stress tests” to establish if they could recover in the event of a major breach, the Bank of England said today. The bank is establishing new standards for how long a bank’s ability to deliver key services such as providing payments and insuring against and dispersing risk [...]