British Lithium team ups with French miner to develop Cornish mega mine June 29, 2023 British Lithium has teamed up with French minerals specialist Imery to develop a mine capable of powering half a million cars per year.
Lack of available finance hampering SMEs – and things aren’t getting better anytime soon June 29, 2023 Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are struggling to access funding as rising rates force banks to put up the costs of lending. According to YouGov data collected for AIM-listed Manx Financial Group, 40 per cent of SMEs had to stop or pause an area of their business due to a lack of funding over the [...]
Number of higher rate income taxpayers soars to record high 5.59m June 29, 2023 The number of Brits paying the higher rate of income tax has surged to its highest level on record, caused by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt freezing tax bands to help rebalance the public finances, official figures out today reveal. Some 5.59m people in the UK are being subjected to the higher [...]
Streamline tax rules to stop Paris ‘biting’ the City’s heels, Deutsche Bank’s UK head warns June 29, 2023 The UK should reconsider the high rate of tax it charges on banks and financial services firms to boost London’s standing, Deutsche Bank’s UK head said. Speaking at The City UK’s annual conference, Tiina Lee, who has been in the role for nearly five years, said “the one area to highlight” in regards to the [...]
Mortgages: Number of people securing a home shot up weeks before BoE hiked rates June 29, 2023 Mortgage approvals continued to show signs of improvement in May, rising to 55,500 for the month as a whole up across the UK – up from 49,000 for the month of April, new data shows. The data provided by the Bank of England (Boe) is a fresh kick in the teeth for prospective buyers, who [...]
Moonpig sales boosted by higher prices despite pre-tax profit dip after Royal Mail strikes June 29, 2023 Moonpig Group has revealed a jump in sales as it upped the prices of its greetings cards, but said consumers were buying fewer cards and sending cheaper gifts. The online greetings cards and gifts giant saw its profits decline as it notched up higher costs. It reported a 5.2 per cent increase in its group [...]
Big US banks pass Fed stress tests months after SVB collapse in sign they’d ‘weather a severe recession’ June 29, 2023 The largest banks in the US sailed through the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests, suggesting they would survive a sharp economic downturn. The Fed said the results demonstrate that large banks are “well positioned to weather a severe recession and continue to lend to households and businesses even during a severe recession.” Despite projected losses [...]
Square Mile and Me: Allica Bank’s Kate Valdar on start-ups, long lunches and Costa Rica June 29, 2023 Each week we ask the City's movers and shakers to take us through their Square Mile journey. This week it's Kate Valdar - general counsel at SME-focussed Allica Bank - on her musical past, her time at PwC and why Costa Rica is on her bucket list
B&M: Bargain hunting Brits help budget chain’s revenues top £1bn June 29, 2023 Brits seeking out bargains have continued to drive earnings at value retailer B&M as it reported a 13.5 per cent rise in group revenue in the first leg of the year. The news, however, failed to impress investors as its share price slumped over 6 per cent when markets opened this morning. The homeware to [...]
Insolvencies set to rise amid ‘perfect storm’ of rising rates and slowing economy, Kroll’s global restructuring lead warns June 29, 2023 Insolvencies are likely to rise amid a “perfect storm” of rising interest rates, higher costs and a slowing economy. “All the indicators show that insolvencies will rise and I think that our message is that management teams need to be taking advice earlier and recognising the problem earlier,” Sarah Rayment, the new co-lead of global [...]