High Court to examine allegations of Treasury involvement in scandal-hit RBS GRG unit February 10, 2019 The Treasury’s role in determining the strategy and actions of RBS’s disgraced restructuring unit GRG is to be examined in court for the first time after a High Court judge ruled the issue was relevant to a £100m claim being pursued by a Manchester-based property developer. The court ruling on Friday allows Oliver Morley, who [...]
Going for gold: How the Bank of England became a battleground of the Venezuela crisis February 10, 2019 While tens of thousands of Venezuelans continued their revolt against the regime of discredited strongman Nicolas Maduro last week, a rather different form of protest popped up in the Square Mile. A group of far-left protesters, who counted Ken Livingstone and Labour MP Chris Williamson among their ranks, accused the Bank of England of “theft” [...]
Government housing targets under fire from UK watchdog February 8, 2019 The government’s method used to assess the number of homes needed to fix Britain’s housing crisis is "flawed", according to the UK's public spending watchdog. In a damning new report published today, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said that the government’s planning system “is underperforming and cannot demonstrate that it is meeting housing demand [...]
Kamikaze Brexiteers may end up in a hell of their own making February 8, 2019 Hell hath no fury like a Brexiteer scorned. From the backlash this week, you would have thought that European Council president Donald Tusk had suggested that the EU get custody of the Queen in the Brexit divorce. “I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a [...]
Editor’s Notes: Corbyn’s short-lived romance with the darling of the US left February 7, 2019 The rising star of the US Democratic party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC, as she is known) said she had “a lovely and wide-reaching conversation” with Jeremy Corbyn earlier this week. For his part, the Labour leader said he wanted to “build a movement to take on the billionaires, polluters and migrant baiters.” On paper, these two [...]
Insurer Zurich boosts profit 20 per cent and hikes dividend February 7, 2019 Swiss insurance behemoth Zurich said today that it boosted operating profit 20 per cent to $4.6bn (£3.5bn) in 2018. It said it is "Well on track" to deliver on its 2017 to 2019 targets with $1.1bn in cumulative net cost savings achieved out of a target of $1.5bn its profitability and return on equity metrics [...]
Profit halves at insurer Beazley on natural disaster losses and a poor investment environment February 7, 2019 Insurer Beazley today blamed natural disasters and a poor investment environment for its profit falling by more than 50 per cent in 2018. Beazley’s 2018 profit before tax was $76.4m (£59.1m), down from $168m, while earnings per share fell from 19.5p in 2017 to 9.7p last year. Read more: Beazley hurricane costs reach $105m The [...]
Sadiq Khan ‘falling short’ on housing after new home registrations fall by 10 per cent February 7, 2019 London mayor Sadiq Khan has been accused of "falling short" on housing targets after it emerged that new home registrations in London dropped 10 per cent last year to just over 16,000. There were 16,069 new home registrations in 2018, down from 17,932 the year before, according to the National House Building Council (NHBC), a [...]
British commercial radio revenue breaks record for third consecutive year February 7, 2019 Advertising revenue on commercial radio in the UK hit £713.3m last year, as corporate investment in the media stream continued to rise. Ad sales topped the previous record of £679.2m set in 2017, according to figures released today by industry body Radiocentre. The news marked the third consecutive year of record growth in the sector. [...]
Royal London to transfer £1bn of assets to Ireland over ‘no-deal’ Brexit concerns February 6, 2019 The UK's largest mutual insurer, the Royal London Mutual Insurance Society (RLMI), is to transfer £1bn of its assets to Ireland amid increasing concerns over a no-deal Brexit. A High Court judge yesterday granted RLMI permission to move its business from the European Economic Area (EEA) to a newly formed Irish subsidiary, Royal London Insurance DAC, because of [...]