Can UK fintech companies succeed where legacy banks have failed so far with CBILS? April 14, 2020 Welcome to this weeks’ edition of City AM’s Crypto Insider, and I hope that you all managed to make the most of the Easter Weekend despite the obvious pain of social distancing. I sincerely hope that all of you and your loved ones are safe and well. The crypto market remains resilient, but nonetheless down [...]
What is ‘fake’ and what is ‘real’ in financial markets? April 1, 2020 I re-watched the Orson Welles docudrama ‘F for Fake’ the other day. The 1973 film is an exploration of what is fake and what is real in the art world. I was curious to see how it held up in the age of fake news. Well, the movie doesn’t have much to say about fake news, but it does [...]
We should hasten the shift from cash, not try to delay it March 16, 2020 Tucked away far down in the text of the Budget was a commitment that the government would protect access to cash and “ensure that the UK’s cash infrastructure is sustainable”. The fact that the UK could become cashless within a decade has caused alarm among some politicians and pressure groups, who have pointed out that [...]
Level up: Boosting the regions might mean levelling down London March 12, 2020 Except for updates on the coronavirus, no ministerial appearance these days is complete without mention of the government’s professed intention to “level up”. This seems to mean a desire to do something — usually something to do with infrastructure spending — for the so-called “left-behind” places that voted Leave in 2016, and especially those “red [...]
2020 Budget live: City reacts to Rishi Sunak’s spending plans March 11, 2020 Welcome to City A.M.’s 2020 Budget Day live blog. Please refresh your browser for live updates. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to address fears over the economic impact of coronavirus, and announce waves of new infrastructure spending and changes on taxation in his 2020 Budget. It comes after Bank of England governor Mark Carney earlier [...]
Training provider Mind Gym warns on coronavirus hit to profit March 9, 2020 Workplace training provider Mind Gym this morning warned that revenue and profit will miss expectations following the coronavirus outbreak. Revenue growth is expected to be 10 to 15 per cent in the year to 31 March, below previous expectations, due to a spike in cancellations and a reduction in new bookings. Profit before tax is [...]
Coronavirus crisis wipes £59bn off FTSE 100 March 6, 2020 Coronavirus wiped £59bn off the FTSE 100 today to cap off another week of stock market turmoil. The blue-chip stock index sank by 3.6 per cent, or 242.88 points, to finish the week on 6,462.55 points – its lowest since July 2016. Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was down 2.98 per cent, or 576.62 points to [...]
Government bond yields sink to record low on coronavirus disruption March 6, 2020 Government bond yields sunk to fresh historic lows as fears over the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on global growth sent investors rushing to safe haven assets. Concerns over the outbreak have sent equities tumbling across the globe and pushed the price of several government bonds to historic highs, while yields (which move inversely to [...]
Airline stocks push FTSE 100 back into the red as coronavirus fears mount March 2, 2020 Airline stocks continued to plunge this morning as more flights were suspended on the back of growing fears over the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. British Airways owner IAG was the FTSE 100’s biggest faller, shedding another nine per cent this morning to land at 426.20. The fall means that since 23 February IAG has [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs to step back and rethink IR35 February 27, 2020 When Philip Hammond announced in 2018 that IR35 would be extended to the private sector, he heralded it as a move that would “open a new chapter in our country’s economic future”. But fast-forward two years, and the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is still facing a huge headache over the tax legislation changes, effective from [...]