Sterling drops to five-year low against the dollar January 7, 2016 The pound hit a five-and-a-half-year low against the dollar today, as markets tumbled in the wake of turbulent trading in China. The pound was buying $1.4568 in mid-morning trading, after falling 0.42 per cent. It was also 8.2 per cent below its 2015 peak of 1.5883. Sterling was also down 1.16 per cent against the euro and [...]
Fintech 2016: Bitcoin rises again and compliance gets sexy January 7, 2016 It was another big year for fintech in Europe in 2015. The frenzy of activity in London has continued. There’s been an overload of conferences and events, an occasional dose of premature back-slapping, but most importantly some great companies have raised serious investment. The rest of Europe, Germany in particular, has leapt forward too – [...]
Interest rates, a Fintech revolution and more investment in the UK: what former Lord Mayor Roger Gifford predicts for the City of London January 6, 2016 Sir Roger Gifford, member of Multrees Investor Services Board and former Lord Mayor of London, tells City A.M. what he expects for the City of London in 2016. The Fintech revolution The importance of Fintech to London can perhaps be seen most clearly through the 44,000 plus people who are employed in the sector – [...]
Business jargon to watch out for in 2016: Prepare to start using (or at least hearing) the words amplify, ladder up and ecosystem January 6, 2016 Hold onto your hats, there's some new jargon coming to town for 2016. You might have learned to cope with eye-wateringly bad management speak like "actionable", "reach out" and "game-changer", but now you're going to have to learn to use a whole new set of phrases without giving into the temptation to bang your head against your desk. [...]
Ignore the gloom-merchants: The UK’s investment-led recovery is sustainable January 6, 2016 We saw some very positive economic news last month, as the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in seven years. The Bank of England also released the results of the major stress test of UK banks which it launched in March 2015. It concluded that “the banking system is capitalised to [...]
UK pensions: Defined benefit pension schemes deficit edging downwards in private sector companies January 4, 2016 UK private companies have marginally narrowed the deficit they are running on their defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. Figures from JLT Employee Benefits show that, at 31 December 2015, funding for DB pensions in all UK private sector pension schemes stood at a £228bn deficit. By comparison, at 31 December 2014, the deficit was £248bn. [...]
Strong mortgage market takes total UK lending growth to seven-year high January 4, 2016 Mortgage lending is climbing at its fastest pace since 2009 with total UK lending now growing at its fastest rate for seven years. Total mortgage lending in the UK climbed by £3.9bn in November, up 2.5 per cent on November 2014, according to figures released by the Bank of England this morning. “Lenders’ appetite for new [...]
Advertising Association chief: Why banning sugary food advertising won’t tackle obesity January 4, 2016 Ministers were urged to impose a “sugar tax” and crack down on the marketing of sugary products to children in a Public Health England (PHE) report, published in October. Since then, many have questioned whether tougher regulation of marketing would really help to tackle childhood obesity, and whether UK advertisers should be made the whipping [...]
Skills shortages, EU uncertainty, and a rate rise before the summer: What to expect from 2016 economics January 4, 2016 The UK economy is in a period of steady growth and low inflation which should continue in 2016. Economic growth this year should be around 2.5 per cent – very respectable in the post-crisis New Normal, keeping us close to the top of the G7 growth league along with the United States. Unemployment is likely [...]
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under fire as MPs on Treasury Select Committee call for hearing over decision to scrap banking culture review January 4, 2016 Leading MPs have slammed the City watchdog over its decision to drop a review into Britain’s banking culture, raising the possibility of an imminent public grilling of top regulators. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed last week that it had scrapped plans for an inquiry into the culture and behaviour of British bank employees, saying that [...]