Government must shield, not sacrifice, financial services in Brexit negotiations November 16, 2020 The health and success of London’s financial businesses is pivotal to the national interest. Banks and other financial institutions that operate out of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf play a vital role in financing businesses, start-ups and critical infrastructure projects in every corner of the UK.
HMRC criminal actions against rich individuals jump 40% in 2019/20 November 16, 2020 The number of arrests, dawn raids or interviews carried out by HMRC in respect of corporate and high net worth individuals jumped 40% last year. Criminal actions launched by HMRC’s Offshore Corporate and Wealth (OCW) unit increased to 70 in the 2019/20 tax year, up from 50 in 2018/19, according to a freedom of information [...]
Investors clamp down on executives’ pension pay packets November 16, 2020 Investors are piling further pressure on companies to scale back executive pension packets to align with the rest of their workforce. In the past it has been common for executives’ pension contributions to be considerably higher than the rest of the workforce. Some progress has been made in bridging the gap but now investors want [...]
Staying and Beyond November 16, 2020 Softer Touch Bitcoin traded a touch softer over the weekend but well within the recent highs and the price action early doors Monday pointed to another attempt to test higher levels. Similarly, Ethereum also dipped over the weekend just ahead of the key $500 mark, with the $477 zone showing some resistance. As noted recently, [...]
Explainer: What are green bonds? And how will the UK’s first green gilts work? November 15, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced yesterday that Britain will issue its first green government bond next year, in a bid to capitalise on growing investor demand for assets that fund environmentally-friendly projects. The market for investments with an environment, social, or governance (ESG) focus has increased exponentially in recent years. Around $250bn (£189bn) of green bonds [...]
Bookshop.org: How a ‘scrappy’ online bookseller is trying to take on Amazon November 15, 2020 While the tech revolution has worked its way into all parts of daily life, few industries have experienced as extreme an overhaul as publishing. US bookstore sales have dropped from highs of more than $17bn (£12.9bn) to less than $10bn, while Amazon’s market share has grown to over 50 per cent. But now there’s a [...]
Our recovery from Covid-19 is a chance not to build walls, but to cooperate November 15, 2020 As we make our way through the second round of national Covid-19 restrictions, life today is very different to what we expected 12 months ago. The UK last week passed the tragic milestone of 50,000 deaths linked to this terrible virus, while many businesses and households across the country continue to struggle due to the [...]
BEIS audit reform proposals expected to be made public in the new year November 13, 2020 Reforms to the audit sector outlined by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are expected in the new year, with full implementation expected in 2023. Mazars head of audit Bob Neate told industry magazine Accountancy Age he expected BEIS to deliver around 110 recommendations drawn from three major reports into auditing. The [...]
To the Moon November 13, 2020 Edging Higher The market continued to edge higher, with Bitcoin attempting to make its way through the congestion area between $16,000, $17,000- $17,150 zone based on 2017/18. Ultimately, the markets are looking to test all-time highs; so much so that resistance before that looks almost futile based on the current risk on sentiment. However, it [...]
Building consensus on London’s housing priorities November 13, 2020 The housing market has the potential to play a significant role in the UK’s economic and social recovery from the pandemic – but housing in London faces a mounting number of challenges and uncertainties in doing so. That was the verdict of a roundtable held as part of a UK-wide initiative by Lloyds Banking Group [...]