Covid: UK bank lending surged £29.3bn since March, surpassing EU March 29, 2021 UK bank lending has surged by eight per cent to keep businesses afloat since the pandemic began, surpassing EU lending, according to a new study by UHY released this morning. Banks have offered around £29.3bn in businesses loans over the past year, as lending in the EU increased by an average of 5.3 per cent. [...]
Corporate diversity: The City must keep working to enable fair access to everyone March 29, 2021 Last week, our nation came together to mark the anniversary of our first national lockdown. The National Day of Reflection was a time for all of us to reflect on the year that has passed and how dramatically our lives have changed. As we look ahead towards the coming months, many will be wondering what [...]
The office needs to be completely re-imagined March 28, 2021 Imagine this. Your alarm goes off slightly earlier than usual, it’s Tuesday; office day. You look forward to putting on properly fitted clothing – especially on your bottom half. The commute is no longer the daily draining slog it once was, but a novelty you enjoy – a time to listen to that podcast and [...]
David Cameron gave banker Lex Greensill access to 11 government departments March 28, 2021 David Cameron gave scandal hit banker Lex Greensill access to 11 government departments to create a new cross-Whitehall financial product, it has been revealed. Greensill, whose finance firm Greensill Capital went bust just weeks ago, was brought into the upper reaches of government by then cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood in 2012. Cameron went on to [...]
Boris Johnson’s visit to India will put his trade principles to the test March 27, 2021 In the much anticipated Integrated Foreign Policy & Defence Review published last week, the government set out one of its key principles as “promoting) effective and transparent governance, robust democratic institutions and the rule of law”. Fine words; a clear echo – whether conscious or not – of a fundamental tenet of liberal thought. It was [...]
‘Snotty tweets’: Amazon clashes with Elizabeth Warren over taxes and unions March 27, 2021 Amazon has become embroiled in a rare public row with US senator Elizabeth Warren over issues including its tax and employment practices. The dispute kicked off on Thursday when the Massachusetts senator posted a video accusing Amazon of “exploiting loopholes and tax havens to pay close to nothing in taxes”. The ecommerce giant replied saying [...]
Is a major dip on the cards for Bitcoin as a record $6bn of options expirations loom large today? March 26, 2021 Is a major dip on the cards for Bitcoin as a record $6bn of options expirations loom large today?
Criminal case against NatWest tip of £90bn iceberg in ‘money laundering capital of the world’ March 26, 2021 Yesterday it was reported that the recent money laundering charges against NatWest are linked to a separate case against 13 individuals based in cities around the UK. The latest revelations followed the shock announcement, last week, that the Financial Conduct Authority had lodged criminal proceedings against NatWest for money laundering offences. The watchdog – accusing NatWest of [...]
The fight for the City: Can Labour challenge the orthodoxy of a pro-business Conservative Party March 26, 2021 Free market purists dismiss it as “woke capitalism”. But could a thriving concern in the City for the health of the planet and for social justice pose an opportunity for the Labour Party? The Square Mile is traditionally caricatured as Tory territory – never an entirely accurate assumption, given its young, multicultural workforce with a [...]
The metaverse: real world laws give rise to virtual world problems March 25, 2021 Gregor Pryor discusses how real world laws give rise to virtual world problems as we advance towards making an existence in the metaverse.