FTSE 100 close: HSBC and Lloyds lead gains on London index as Turkish lira slides after inconclusive election May 15, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a new week in decent style today, led higher by Britain’s largest banks clocking strong gains. The capital’s premier index advanced 0.30 per cent to 7,777.69 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.37 per cent to [...]
‘Greedflation’ not to blame for UK price surge, former rate setter claims May 15, 2023 “Greedflation” is not to blame for prices surging in the UK and instead businesses are pushing up prices in response to soaring costs, a former Bank of England rate-setter claimed today. Michael Saunders, an ex-member of the monetary policy committee – the nine strong group that sets interest rates in Britain – and now senior [...]
British American Tobacco appoints new chief executive as as analysts predict something’s ‘not right’ at BAT May 15, 2023 British American Tobacco appointed finance director Tadeu Marroco as CEO on Monday, succeeding Jack Bowles who is stepping down after about four years. Marroco started working for the tobacco firm in Brazil in 1992 and was appointed to the board in 2019. Bowles, who also joined the board in 2019, has led the maker of [...]
Heathrow vs airlines – dispute continues as parties given permission to appeal price cap May 11, 2023 Heathrow Airport and three major airlines have been granted permission to appeal the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s decision on the Heathrow price cap this afternoon. The airlines, which are Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Delta Air Lines, have been locked in a fierce dispute with Heathrow over the amount the airport can charge per passenger. [...]
Nationwide, Santander, TSB and Virgin Money probed over ‘measly’ savings rates May 10, 2023 An influential parliamentary body has expanded its inquiry into the low savings rates paid by the UK’s retail banks, describing the current rates on offer as “measly”. Having investigated the UK’s four largest retail banks, MPs at the Treasury Committee have now sent letters to Nationwide, Santander, TSB and Virgin Money. These lenders account for [...]
Can regulators get the City growing? It will be hard to tell, lawyers warn May 10, 2023 The government may run into trouble as it looks to gauge the impact of City regulators in boosting the growth and international standing of the UK’s financial sector, top lawyers have warned.
AI doing the work of over 200 people at Octopus, chief executive says May 8, 2023 Octopus Energy customers are more satisfied with AI bots answering their emails than humans, the energy provider’s chief executive revealed on Monday. Writing in the Times newspaper, the energy company’s chief executive, Greg Jackson, said the technology was doing the work of 250 people by answering customer emails and had received a 80 per cent [...]
Activision deal: Survey says CMA wrong to block Microsoft tie-up May 8, 2023 A quarter of the public thought the UK competition watchdog was wrong to block Microsoft’s $70b deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, a new poll has found. One in four of the public were opposed to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to block the deal, while a further 16 percent thought it was [...]
Post-Brexit powers mean regulators need greater oversight, City figures warn May 5, 2023 Ex-ministers and City figures have warned that the government is not doing enough to improve the scrutiny of regulators after Brexit, in a sign that past rows about protecting the independence of the UK’s top financial regulators could resurface in the coming months. Following Brexit, UK financial regulators, such as the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and [...]
UK antitrust agency probes AI market as calls for regulation grow louder May 4, 2023 The UK's competition regulator has launched a review into the advancement of artificial intelligence, it confirmed today, amid growing concerns over its unchecked power to potentially overhaul the jobs market and spread misinformation.