Tomorrow will be a better day is a mantra for business, too February 5, 2021 “Tomorrow will be a better day.” Words of comfort from the late Captain Sir Tom Moore that will inspire a nation in the days to come. The news of his passing hit me harder than I had any reason to expect. I admired him greatly for the life he led and the dignified positivity and [...]
Feast in the East: UK’s Pacific tie-up could be world’s first digital alliance February 5, 2021 Last week the government announced that it was applying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership or CPTPP. The trading group circles the Pacific with 11 members, including major economies like Japan, Mexico and Australia, and the UK’s trade with it already stands at over £100 billion. The cabinet’s current rising star, international trade [...]
Barclays CEO on the future of the City: ‘Forget Frankfurt and Paris’ February 5, 2021 Jes Staley, the CEO of Barclays, has said the UK financial services industry should focus on competing with the US and Asia, rather than the EU. Staley reportedly said that although jobs that would have been created in the Square Mile may have been moved to the EU, Brexit has given one of the UK’s [...]
Exclusive: ‘Pool Re’ style scheme could help insurers fund Covid-19 cover, says Beazley CEO February 5, 2021 The CEO of insurer Beazley is hopeful that insurers will be able to provide cover against infectious diseases like Covid-19 in the future, but said a government backstop may be needed to press ahead. It is not possible to get insurance on Covid-19-related cancellation cover on events this year, because the chances of an event [...]
City A.M. TV: Daily Market Snapshot February 5, 2021 With such a strong rally this week, and a marked retracement of recent losses, the key near term question is whether this is a ‘dead cat bounce’ – OR – simply a resumption of the medium term uptrend. From a price action perspective, the jury is still out. In particular, despite a strong rally in [...]
Supreme Court curbs SFO’s global reach February 5, 2021 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has lost its case against US engineering company KBR in the Supreme Court over whether it can compel foreign businesses to hand over documents held overseas. Supreme Court Judges unanimously disagreed with a 2018 High out ruling that Section 2 notices could have extra-territorial reach. The US firm had previously [...]
Wall Street rises on stimulus talks as FTSE 100 closes flat February 4, 2021 Wall Street pushed higher this afternoon as investors looked to corporate earnings and signs of progress on more pandemic stimulus. The Dow Jones was up 0.91 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.86 and 0.88 per cent respectively. It came after the FTSE 100 closed four points lower this afternoon as sterling [...]
Bank of England holds rates, and would need half a year for negative rates February 4, 2021 The Bank of England (BoE) has today left interest rates on hold at 0.1 per cent and its bond-buying programme at £895bn. The BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep rates at record-low levels. It also confirmed that it would take six months for banks to get ready for negative interest rates should [...]
Too many bosses are using Covid-19 to indulge their Big Brother tendencies February 3, 2021 Controversy around technologies used to monitor employees is not new. However, against the backdrop of COVID-19 with office-based workforces operating remotely, businesses have struggled with how to effectively manage staff and have hastily deployed surveillance technologies. This knee-jerk reaction is perhaps understandable, but employers must be wary. The backlash can be severe, unexpected, and sometimes [...]
Doner kebab top of the list for convicted Libor-rigger Tom Hayes after he’s freed from jail January 29, 2021 Doner kebab top of the list for convicted Libor-rigger Tom Hayes after he's freed from jail