Brexit gives us the chance to refit our financial regulation for the 21st century February 17, 2021 Britain’s departure from the European Union has created a unique opportunity to re-shape our regulatory framework for financial services; setting the sector up for continued success in the years to come and maintaining the UK’s position as a globally competitive financial centre. With Brexit complete – and many regulatory powers returning to the UK for [...]
Coronavirus: London suffers ‘heaviest job losses in UK’ during pandemic February 16, 2021 London suffered the largest number of job losses of any UK region during the pandemic last year, as the capital continues to feel the weight of a “geographically unequal crisis”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The number of London employees on payrolls dropped 5.5 per cent between February and December last year, [...]
Before the Bell: Rising recovery optimism keeps markets buoyant February 16, 2021 With US markets closed for President’s Day yesterday, they will have some significant catching up to do after yesterday’s stellar European session, when they return from their long weekend later today. Having seen the Nikkei225 push above 30,000 for the first time since 1990, a move that continued in Asia this morning, European markets [...]
IFS urges Rishi Sunak not to raise taxes in March Budget February 16, 2021 Rishi Sunak’s March Budget should announce “well targeted” extensions to current emergency Covid support measures and avoid any tax rises, according to one of the UK’s largest economics think tanks. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) will today urge the chancellor in an online event to “secure the UK’s economic recovery” and “set out plans [...]
Wetherspoons boss calls for pubs to open alongside non-essential shops February 15, 2021 Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin has urged the government to reopen pubs at the same time as non-essential shops, as the Prime Minister prepares to lay out his “roadmap” for exiting lockdown. Martin called for a clear timeline for pubs across the UK to resume selling pints, warning the industry is “on its knees” from months [...]
Treasury Committee chair: ‘One-off wealth tax’ could patch the Covid gap in public finances February 15, 2021 The MP who leads the Treasury Committee suggested this morning that Chancellor Rishi Sunak should introduce a one-off wealth tax to help revive the country’s public finances. As the pandemic is tearing its way through public finances, the chair of the UK Treasury Committee, Mel Stride, said a one-off wealth tax may be an effective [...]
The Week Ahead: Barclays, Natwest, retail sales, public borrowing February 15, 2021 City A.M. takes a look at some of this week’s market-shaping events. Barclays – Full year results (Thursday) The past 12 months have been difficult ones for banks in general, but UK banks have underperformed relative to their peers, Hewson said, with the unknowns of what a final Brexit deal might look like also weighing [...]
UK to set up green finance research hubs in London and Leeds February 15, 2021 The UK government will set up a new green finance research centre based in London and Leeds to advise the private sector on sustainable investments. The £10m hubs will “provide world-class data and analytics to financial institutions and services such as banks, lenders, investors and insurers” to “better support their investment and business decisions by [...]
Treasury Committee calls for economic modelling alongside Covid lockdown roadmap February 15, 2021 Westminster’s Treasury Select Committee has called for the government to release economic and epidemiological modelling on Covid restrictions when Boris Johnson unveils his roadmap out of the lockdown. Committee chair and Tory MP Mel Stride wants chancellor Rishi Sunak to produce the combined modelling, known as epi-macro modelling, to provide businesses the economic and social [...]
Tories see vaccine bounce to take five-point poll lead over Labour February 14, 2021 New polling has revealed a post-vaccine bounce for the government, with the Tories now leading Labour by five points. The Opinium poll has Boris Johnson’s Conservatives at 42 per cent and Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour on 37 per cent. The jump has coincided with the government’s rollout of the vaccine, which has been among the [...]