Swift’s beefing up its security after fraud troubles July 11, 2016 The global bank messaging system which was targeted in a multi-million dollar hack of the Bangladesh central bank has beefed up its cyber security in the wake of the fraudulent attack. Swift, which oversees the international transfers of major financial institutions, has called in support from specialists BAE Systems and Fox-IT to increase its ability to respond to [...]
US non-farm payroll numbers: Country added 287,000 jobs in June in turnaround from shock May figures July 8, 2016 The US added 287,000 jobs in June, driven by the leisure and hospitality and healthcare and social assistance sectors. The non-farm payroll data released today is a marked turnaround from the numbers published last month, which showed US employers added just 38,000 jobs in May. The greenback crashed after the May data, which showed the weakest jobs growth [...]
Unintended consequences: Tinkering with Solvency II July 8, 2016 Tinkering with things is in the nature of regulators. Inevitably, however, well-intentioned tinkering often delivers unintended consequences. Today, the unintended consequences of tinkering are emerging in London’s international specialty insurance market, notably following Solvency II, which specifies the amount of capital that insurance companies must hold to reduce the risk of insolvency. While the impact of the EU referendum [...]
It’s official: Londoners are the grumpiest in the country July 7, 2016 Fed up of all the Brexit doom and gloom? Need a little pick-me-up as we enter the summer months? Then look away now. Because new research from those happy-go-lucky number crunchers over at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found Londoners are the grumpiest people in the country. For anybody who has incurred the uncompromising [...]
US Federal Reserve June minutes show labour market and Brexit fears July 6, 2016 The latest US Federal Reserve minutes have shown members agreed they should wait for further data on the labour market and the impact of the UK's European Union membership vote before raising rates. Most were in agreement rates should be raised if economic conditions improved, though officials said May jobs payrolls raised uncertainty. The meeting was held a week [...]
There’s no need for a messy divorce: Europe should “consciously uncouple” from Britain July 5, 2016 Sitting in Gatwick’s departure terminal on the afternoon of Friday 24 June felt a bit like leaving a car crash before the ambulance arrived. Hours earlier I was standing in front of a plunging sterling-dollar chart reporting live that Sunderland voted Leave by a much wider margin than expected. The journalist in me was anxious [...]
Let’s embrace the new opportunities for prosperity Brexit has opened up July 5, 2016 Although we were on opposing sides of the Brexit debate, one the employment minister and the other an asset manager in London, there is one thing we are in absolute agreement on: Britain has opportunities ahead and there is a job to do to ensure the country becomes as great as it can be. We [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open June 30, 2016 The Fed's stress tests were failed by two European banks further buffeting stocks hit by the Brexit vote, while Wall Street lenders have announced share-buyback plans. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. Futures are pointing down ahead of the open, with the S&P off by 0.16 per [...]
Deutsche Bank and Santander fail US banking stress tests June 30, 2016 Santander and Deutsche Bank have failed the US Federal Reserve's stress tests, in another blow to the global banking sector. The central bank's comprehensive capital analysis and review programme, which measures how well lenders would perform in a range of different scenarios, found the banks lacked necessary internal controls and were worried about their risk management [...]
War of words reignites over BHS as Sir Philip Green objects to comments by MP Frank Field about his company “nicking” June 29, 2016 THE war of words between retail tycoon Sir Philip Green and Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, has reignited after the MP accused Green's company of “nicking” which is investigating the collapse of BHS. In an evidence session with Sir Philip’s right-hand man, Paul Budge, into the collapse of BHS, Field said: [...]