Can office workers save the day for local businesses ravaged by Covid-19? September 2, 2020 The sudden shift to remote working put in place by the majority of UK businesses may herald the end of the office, at least as we know it. Five months and multiple government campaigns later, and the shift to the kitchen table continues, seemingly unabated. According to a survey from US bank Morgan Stanley, just [...]
FTSE 100 slides as pound surges but US stocks continue to rise September 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 slumped as the pound soared, but the relentless rise of the big US tech companies continued on a choppy day’s trading. London’s blue-chip stock index slid 1.8 per cent to stand at 5,859 points in afternoon trading. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap firms shed one per cent. Read more: Asian markets [...]
Tesla seeks to cash in on record run with $5bn share sale September 1, 2020 Tesla today said that it would sell $5bn (£3.7bn) in new shares as the electric car maker seeks to cash in on a record rally which has seen the stock rise nearly 500 per cent this year. According to a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the new shares will be sold “from [...]
The Race for Digital Asset Supremacy September 1, 2020 The financial services industry is in the midst of a generational transition. Where once cryptocurrencies and digital assets represented a counterculture movement, developed as a direct response to the failings of the financial system in the 2008/9 financial crash, today they have become a central part of the financial services industry. The adoption of digital [...]
Unfinished Business September 1, 2020 Back in 2015, I co-founded a challenger Bank called Starling with a super smart group of people (plus me) with different talents – mine was technology – and with a common drive, determination and goal ‘to change financial services for the better’. I think we went a long way in achieving that aim, helping people [...]
Rishi Sunak considers £30bn in post-Covid tax hikes August 30, 2020 Rishi Sunak is drawing up plans to implement £30bn in tax rises to plug the budget black hole left by the government’s coronavirus response. The measures reportedly under consideration include raising corporation tax and capital gains tax, breaking the pension triple lock guarantee and cutting foreign aid. The Sunday Times reports that this would include [...]
The Hut Group plots mega £4.5bn London initial public offering August 27, 2020 The Hut Group today unveiled plans for a £4.5bn float on the London Stock Exchange in a move that is set to land its co-founder a bumper payday. The consumer brands retailer, which is based at Manchester Airport, said in a filing that it intends to carry out a free float of at least 20 [...]
UK hospitality firms predict 41 per cent drop in summer sales August 27, 2020 UK hospitality firms are predicting a 41 per cent drop in sales over the summer months, although businesses are optimistic that trade will pick up this winter. According to the latest research, six per cent of hospitality and leisure sector companies are confident about growth this summer. However confidence surges in the winter months, with [...]
Ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott to be given top UK trade role August 26, 2020 Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is set to be unveiled as Boris Johnson’s choice to lead the UK’s post-Brexit trade mission. Abbott has reportedly been appointed as joint president – along with trade secretary Liz Truss – to Britain’s Board of Trade and will be tasked with promoting the UK as a trade destination [...]
City figures brought in to advise on UK trade negotiations August 25, 2020 Some of the City of London’s most prominent business leaders have been drafted in by the government to consult on the UK’s ongoing trade negotiations. Leaders from companies such as EY, Barclays and HSBC will be members of the Department of International Trade’s newly formed trade advisory groups. The government is simultaneously negotiating trade deal [...]