UK growth revised upwards at end of year after manufacturing boost, but weaker first quarter drags on 2016 overall February 22, 2017 The UK economy grew faster than previously thought in the last three months of 2016, with the manufacturing sector delivering a late boost to growth after a weaker first quarter. Growth for the year was revised down to 1.8 per cent from two per cent after a slower performance in the first three months of [...]
City Moves for 22 February 2017 – who’s switching jobs? February 22, 2017 Today's City Moves cover property planning, analytical ratings, energy and engineering. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Indigo Planning Indigo Planning has appointed Sam Pullar as associate director. He joins the group with more than 12 years’ planning and development experience in London and the South East. Much of Sam’s work to date [...]
Brexit vacuum must be avoided, as new report warns of a second cliff edge scenario February 22, 2017 Businesses could find themselves launched off of a cliff edge and into a Brexit vacuum if the government does not line up its transition period with care. The Institute of Directors (IoD) is warning the UK will likely need longer than the two-year Article 50 process to negotiate both an EU exit agreement and a [...]
A smooth Brexit could lead to tighter monetary policy according to the Bank of England’s Mark Carney February 21, 2017 A smooth Brexit process would lead to a faster rate of interest rate increases, according to the Bank of England’s governor, Mark Carney If the process of the UK leaving the EU moves “relatively smoothly to an increasingly clear end point” it would “be consistent with a higher path of interest rates,” Carney said, in [...]
Solvency II one year on: Bank of England is cautiously optimistic February 21, 2017 Regulations to ensure UK insurers hold sufficient capital have been a success despite being too costly and taking too long to put into practice, the Bank of England said today, one year after the rules first came into force. Insurance companies will report their first annual results including disclosures on Solvency II in the coming weeks. And David [...]
British consumers see no negatives from Brexit despite rising economy fears February 21, 2017 Brexit did not stop British consumer confidence from growing over the past year, despite the economy topping a list of concerns for future prospects, according to a new poll. British consumer confidence at the end of 2016 was marginally higher than a year earlier and far ahead of European average, according to pollsters Nielsen. More than [...]
UK growth smashes developed nations average to sit atop G7 says the OECD February 20, 2017 UK growth smashed the average for advanced economies around the globe at the end of 2016, with expansion slowing across more developed countries. The GDP growth rate amongst the richer countries was 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD nations grew by [...]
An old Irish lady found one of the last £50k Jane Austen fivers and donated it to charity February 20, 2017 There's still a £5 engraved with a tiny portrait of Jane Austen floating around – after the last one was discovered and donated to charity. Back in December artist Graham Short declared he had engraved four of the Bank of England's new fivers with a tiny, 5mm, picture of the author, plus a quote from her [...]
How Blockchain technology will change the financial services industry February 20, 2017 Blockchain technology has been hailed as a potential “second generation of the Internet.” A whole vocabulary has sprung up around it, with an emphasis on key words like distributed ledger, cryptography, and trust. But what is blockchain, exactly? It’s basically a database where recorded transactions are copied to a participating network of computers. Since the [...]
Nick Jones interview: Soho House founder on The Ned, his new £200m project in the heart of the Square Mile February 18, 2017 As Nick Jones returns his teacup to its saucer, sits back and spreads his arms across the fluffy blue sofa, he looks uncommonly comfy. Of course he does. The founder of the world’s most famous chain of private members clubs, Soho House, is in his home from home, 76 Dean Street, one of 18 dotted [...]