Ryanair launches biggest London winter schedule but underlines commitment to pivot growth away as Brexit looms February 23, 2017 Ryanair has launched its biggest ever schedule out of London to date, with three new routes from London Stansted. But the airline has also reiterated its commitment to pivoting growth away from Britain in the wake of the Brexit vote. The Irish carrier’s 2017 schedule will have three new routes from London Stansted to Aalborg [...]
Retail sales bounce back as consumer spending continues to support the economy February 23, 2017 Retail sales rebounded in February after a dip to start the year, a new survey shows, as consumer spending continues to hold up despite inflation increases. Two in five retailers reported increased volumes in February to give a positive balance of nine per cent, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) survey of distributive [...]
Mortgage lenders have just had their best January since 2008 February 23, 2017 Mortgage lending hit £18.9bn in January, new figures have shown – two per cent up on the same month last year, and the best January since 2008. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the figure was down six per cent on December's £20bn – but added that the number of first-time buyers had continued [...]
Experts are vital, but so is scepticism and debate – take it from the Bank of England’s Minouche Shafik February 23, 2017 Experts have come in for plenty of stick over the past 12 months. Michael Gove’s infamous assertion during the referendum campaign that “people have had enough” of them has entered political legend. His actual quote is overlooked: he was specifically criticising experts who worked at “organisations with acronyms” and who were “consistently getting it wrong”. So, [...]
Clear off: City of London steps up fight to retain euro clearing after expert warnings against “currency nationalism” February 22, 2017 High-profile regulators, politicians and financial experts have warned that any move by the European Union to force euro clearing out of London could have grave consequences for global economic stability. Sir Jon Cunliffe, the deputy governor of the Bank of England who supervises financial stability, hit out at “currency nationalism” on Wednesday, saying: “Such a policy if [...]
Bank of England official lashes out at online “echo chambers” and “fake news” in defence of experts February 22, 2017 A top Bank of England official has hit out at the rise of “fake news” in a strident defence of the role of experts in society. Speaking at the Oxford Union, BoE deputy governor for markets and banking Minouche Shafik laid out the need for “an agenda for rebuilding trustworthiness”. Shafik said that the rise of [...]
Eye-watering, life-changing Indian Premier League deals for the likes of Ben Stokes and Tymal Mills are positive for cricket February 22, 2017 While Kevin Pietersen has a point when he says the lucrative £1.4m Indian Premier League (IPL) contract handed to Twenty20 specialist Tymal Mills this week is a slap in the face for Test cricket, I believe it’s predominantly positive for the game. Some domestic players work hard day in, day out for their counties, striving to [...]
Leeds Building Society’s profits headed north for the fourth year in a row, but boss warns low interest rates and Brexit could make the road ahead tough February 22, 2017 Leeds Building Society announced today its annual profits before tax had risen for the fourth year in a row, but the lender's boss warned super low interest rates could lead to tough times ahead. The figures The building society revealed profits before tax of £116.6m, up 7.5 per cent compared with £108.5m the year before. However, [...]
Wrenching euro clearing out of London after Brexit will harm financial stability, warns the Bank of England’s deputy governor February 22, 2017 Dragging euro clearing out of London after Brexit could pose a risk to global financial stability and push up transaction costs, according to a deputy governor of the Bank of England (BoE). Sir Jon Cunliffe, who supervises financial stability for the Bank, hit out at “currency nationalism” as policymakers wrangle over the fate of euro [...]
BBC to launch new TV channel for Scotland with £30m budget February 22, 2017 The BBC has announced plans to launch a new TV channel for Scotland, with a budget equivalent to that of BBC4. Director general Tony Hall said today that the channel would launch in the autumn of 2018. Read more: Fake news and echo chambers help BBC Radio 4's Today hit audience record It will have [...]