Spilling the beans: How coffee chain Grind has carved out its own London niche January 20, 2020 Given how busy life in the capital can get, and how hard the people here work, most Londoners must live on coffee. It’s the only plausible explanation for the explosion in coffee shops in recent years. Independent coffee houses are thriving alongside the big brands like Costa and Pret a Manger. According to research by [...]
Gold is the new gold: Why the safe haven investment could shine in 2020 January 18, 2020 The start of 2020 has certainly been a rude awakening for traders returning to work after the Christmas break. Oil prices spiked after the US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani ignited tensions in the Middle East. Equities were shaken, and investors flocked to safe haven assets in a bid to shelter from the storm. [...]
Chancellor’s Budget on 11 March – to tax or not to tax January 17, 2020 Having inadvertently set a record by having a year without a Budget, the first time this has happened since the introduction of income tax, the Chancellor’s choice of Wednesday 11 March, rather than “February” as stated in the election campaign, gives the busy Treasury a little more time to work up the ideas that were [...]
Brexit will not affect holidays to the EU, says travel industry January 17, 2020 The UK’s travel industry body has stressed “nothing will change” for British tourists booking holidays to the EU until the end of 2020. ABTA, which represents thousands of travel firms, discovered that one-third of Brits are unsure about the impact of Brexit on their travel plans. So it has updated its advice on how Brexit [...]
Hastings shares tumble as insurer issues profit warning January 17, 2020 Hastings shares plummeted this morning after it warned that it expects a 42 per cent drop in annual profit because of high claims costs in the final quarter. The motor insurer said it plans to lower its annual dividend, citing a challenging market. Shares fell 6.3 per cent this morning to 173.5p. Hastings said claims [...]
UK retail sales decline knocks sterling lower January 17, 2020 UK retail sales fell in the “golden quarter” of Christmas trading, the latest statistics showed today in a further sign of the challenges facing the British high street. In the three months to December 2019, the amount spent and the quantity bought in the retail industry fell 0.9 per cent and one per cent respectively, [...]
Carillion two years on: ‘Misery’ as major hospitals in Liverpool and Birmingham still unfinished January 17, 2020 The government has faced yet another round of criticism for its handling of the collapse of outsourcer Carillion, more than two years after the company failed – this time over two hospitals it was building when it went bust. The government spending watchdog said in a report that the hospitals, in Liverpool and the west [...]
Bank of England and City watchdog urge firms to accelerate Libor transition January 16, 2020 The City regulator and Bank of England have joined forces to urge banks and insurers to accelerate plans to transition away from the discredited Libor interest rate benchmark. Firms have until October to stop writing loans tied to the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), which is embedded within some $350 trillion (£268 trillion) of financial [...]
BoE governor Mark Carney to advise PM on climate change January 16, 2020 Outgoing Bank of England governor Mark Carney is to be a key adviser to the government in the run-up to the UN climate change conference, COP26. Boris Johnson confirmed Carney in the role during a meeting at Number 10 today. The Canadian economist will help the UK government to “mobilise ambitious action from across the [...]
FSCS says it is ‘too early to predict’ London Capital & Finance compensation levels January 16, 2020 The financial services lifeboat said today it was “too early to predict” how much it would have to pay out in compensation to investors in collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF). Last week, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) said it would protect 159 LCF bondholders who switched from stocks and shares ISAs [...]