International Monetary Fund’s Christine Lagarde warns of blockchain disruption to clearing and settlement industries April 16, 2018 The influential head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today warned that the blockchain technology underpinning cryptocurrencies threatens to cut a swathe through the financial infrastructure industries. In a blog posted today on the IMF’s website, Christine Lagarde highlighted smart contracts, which carry out transactions automatically without intervention from an external party, as one of [...]
ONS Survey: UK construction continues to tumble as manufacturing slows April 11, 2018 Construction and manufacturing across the UK have continued to fall, according to analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The February ONS figures show that construction fell 1.6 per cent month-on-month, and was down three per cent compared to February last year. Read more: Snow no: Construction activity shrinks in March after unusually bad [...]
After a bumpy end to 2017 what is the outlook for the London listing market in 2018? April 9, 2018 Nearly £3bn worth of initial public offerings (IPOs) were pulled in London at the end of last year. Deals that were announced but then failed to make it to market include debt collector Cabot Credit Management, professional services business TMF Group and phone mast company Arqiva. In the six months to December companies that had [...]
Fear not – a flurry of inbound mergers and acquisitions is good news for post-Brexit Britain April 9, 2018 Good news for bankers! Dealmaking this year has jumped to levels close to a pre-credit-crunch peak reached more than a decade ago. That’s according to figures published today by accountancy giant EY. Mergers and acquisitions involving UK parties totalled a whopping $120bn (£85bn) in the first quarter of 2018, eclipsing the $51bn recorded in the [...]
London financial services account for slowdown of productivity growth as UK labour productivity rises by 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017 April 6, 2018 London’s financial industry and several regional manufacturing industries account for a large chunk of the recent slowdown in UK productivity growth, new analysis from the Office for National Statistics said today. The capital’s financial services industry – and several regional manufacturing industries – made a considerably reduced contribution to productivity growth in the five years [...]
Legal & General boss Sir John Kingman in line to spearhead audit watchdog probe April 4, 2018 The chairman of Legal & General is on the shortlist to lead an investigation into Britain’s top accounting regulator, according to reports. Sir John Kingman, previously a prominent figure in Whitehall as Treasury second permanent secretary, is among those being considered to spearhead a review of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The candidate could be [...]
Construction activity shrinks in March after unusually bad weather, says IHS Markit, CIPS UK construction PMI April 4, 2018 Activity in the construction sector was chilled in March due to “unusually bad weather”, according to the IHS Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing manager’s index out this morning. Growth slowed from a reading of 51.4 in February to 47 in March, signalling the first time industry activity fell below the 50 no-change marker for six months. [...]
Carillion labelled “one of the most complex insolvencies ever” as jobs saved nears 10,000 barrier April 3, 2018 The government will today announce more than half of Carillion’s pre-liquidation workforce have had their jobs saved. The Insolvency Service is to reveal almost 1,000 more positions have been safeguarded. This means nearly 10,000 of Carillion’s 18,000-strong directly employed workforce have seen their roles preserved. The announcement comes as Carillion’s liquidation nears its three-month anniversary. [...]
Clifford Chance breaks ranks with magic circle to include partners in its gender pay gap figures March 27, 2018 Clifford Chance has included its partner pay in its gender pay gap report, the first magic circle law firm to do so. The firm revealed today that it had a mean hourly pay gap of 66.3 per cent, falling to 27.3 per cent in its partnership ranks, 27.7 per cent among its business services staff [...]
House of Fraser’s lenders call in advisers EY as high street crisis continues March 24, 2018 House of Fraser has become the latest household name to send out warning signals, as its lenders have appointed EY as advisers to check its ongoing viability as a business. In a year that has already seen the collapse of Toys R Us and Maplins, a syndicate of banks acting as lenders to House of [...]