Thomas Cook hits back after rumours over Chinese owner selling its stake November 15, 2022 Thomas Cook has pushed back against reports that its Chinese owner Fosun Tourism Group was looking to sell its stake in the company. “Fosun Tourism Group has no plans to sell Thomas Cook,” a Thomas Cook spokesperson told City A.M. Sources today told Sky News’ Mark Kleinman that the Chinese powerhouse was contemplating either raising [...]
Hunt readies for biggest budget since Cameron and Osborne’s first outing November 15, 2022 Thursday’s budget (okay, Autumn Statement) is the biggest since David Cameron and George Osborne’s first statement in 2010, just after they seized the keys to number 10 (with a little help from the Liberal Democrats) from Gordon Brown’s Labour. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt faces a daunting task. Weaker than expected economic growth, high inflation and a [...]
“On the to-do list”: City minister promises reform as London slips behind Paris November 14, 2022 THE CITY minister Andrew Griffith yesterday said post-Brexit financial services reforms were on his “to do list” after new figures suggesting Paris’ stock market had overtaken London’s sent a shockwave through the Square Mile. The total value of all listings in the French capital overtook London last month, according to number crunchers at Bloomberg. Whilst [...]
Sacre bleu! But complacency, not Paris, is the City’s real enemy November 14, 2022 Sacre bleu! Zut alors! The only possible reactions to news that Paris’ bourse has, by one measure, overtaken London’s stock exchange as Europe’s largest. The calculation sent a shockwave through the City’s lunch spots today, just about replacing the fear and dread associated with Thursday’s budget as the first topic of conversation. Could it be [...]
KPMG settles lawsuit over Quindell audit negligence claim November 14, 2022 KPMG has paid out £5m to settle a lawsuit over audit failings at UK insurance software group Quindell - now called Watchstone.
FRC fines hit record highs as watchdog sends ‘clear message’ to UK’s audit sector November 14, 2022 The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) fined auditors a record £33.3m in the year running up to 30 September 2022, new figures from Thomson Reuters Confirmation shows. The record high sum marks a 77 per cent increase on the £18.7m fines – after discounts and adjustments – handed out in the previous year. The [...]
Volatile markets and soaring gilt yields could see pensions buy-out boom, analysts say November 14, 2022 The UK could see £200bn worth of pensions buyouts over the next three years as higher gilt yields and increasingly volatile markets boost the attractiveness of bulk purchase annuity deals, analysts have said. The market for bulk purchase annuity deals could show fast paced growth over the next few years as pension funds seek to [...]
Value of UK business tax breaks hits record £105bn in past year alone November 14, 2022 The value of business tax reliefs in the UK hit £105.3bn in the past year, up from £100.3bn in 2020-21, shows new research shared with City A.M. this morning. The £105.3bn figure represents the combined cost estimated by HMRC for the 58 significant tax reliefs available to corporates. However, these represent just a fraction of [...]
Lord Mayor says City must provide ‘financial resilience’ during UK recession November 14, 2022 The City must help provide “financial resilience” to help the UK get through the incoming recession, according to the new Lord Mayor of London. Nicholas Lyons, who is the 694th holder of the post, wrote in City A.M. today that “financial services industry must find ways to help people bridge this crisis by providing insurance [...]
Financial resilience will be the backbone to withstand a tough winter recession November 14, 2022 The financial services industry must find ways to help people bridge this crisis by providing insurance premium wavers, affordable credit, and debt repayment deferrals.