FTSE 100 creeps up as surging pound dents exporters February 24, 2021 The FTSE 100 crept back into the black today as the index’s exporters were hit by the pound rising to its highest levels since 2018. Having opened down 0.6 per cent at 6,599 points, London’s premier index was up 0.3 per cent at 6,643 points just after midday. The slight rise came as sterling neared [...]
Super-rich opt for London despite temporary exodus amid pandemic February 24, 2021 London’s standing as a home for the super rich to live, invest and do business in has been unchanged during the pandemic.
HSBC to move top brass out of Canary Wharf in ‘pivot to Asia’ February 22, 2021 HSBC will accelerate plans to increase its presence in Asia, as the bank prepares to shift some of its senior executives from London to Hong Kong, according to reports. Chief executive Noel Quinn is expected to begin marketing HSBC’s “pivot to Asia” when he announces the bank’s 2020 earnings tomorrow. Under the plans, a raft [...]
European Commission gives the green light on data adequacy agreement with UK February 19, 2021 The European Commission has said the UK’s data protection laws are in line with the EU’s, paving the way for a long-term adequacy decision. Article 44 of GDPR prohibits the transfer of personal data from the EU/EEA to recipients in jurisdictions outside the bloc, unless specific conditions are met. One of the conditions is an [...]
Wall Street joins FTSE in the red following gloomy jobs data February 18, 2021 Wall Street faced a sea of red this morning as shares slid across the board after an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims highlighted the fragile labour market recovery. A report from the US Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits were 861,000 last week, compared with 848,000 in the prior week. The [...]
Tracking the pandemic’s impacts on small business February 18, 2021 Next week the Government will provide an update on the lockdown exit plan with a much-speculated upon roadmap to recovery out of the pandemic. This roadmap needs clear signposts and barrier-free routes to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) recover. It has been a turbulent year for them, evidenced in results from the ACCA UK [...]
Wall Street opens at record high on stimulus progress February 5, 2021 The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened at record highs on today on signs of progress towards more economic stimulus, while a closely watched jobs report confirmed the labor market was stabilising. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38 points, or 0.12 per cent, at the open to 31093.81. The S&P 500 rose 6.6 points, [...]
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 [...]
Government set to write off estimated £31bn of pandemic loans January 29, 2021 An estimate of £31bn of government loans handed out during the pandemic will have to be written off, according to the UK’s spending watchdog. In its latest Covid-19 Cost Tracker, the National Audit Office (NAO) forecast that the total cost of the pandemic for Britain will balloon to £271bn, of which £116bn has been spent [...]
Confidence in London business creeps up in January January 29, 2021 Business confidence in London rose five points during January to three per cent, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank. The rise marks the first positive reading on the barometer since the Covid-19 outbreak began. The business barometer quizzes 1,200 businesses monthly. This month companies in the capital reported higher confidence in their [...]