Editor’s Notes: Only a lack of ambition can hold Britain back, says the Legatum Institute’s researcher tasked with finding the upside of the Brexit vote March 17, 2017 Britain faces an enormous challenge in the wake of Brexit, but the prize is more than worth the fight. That’s according to one experienced former trade negotiator who now finds himself at the heart of the UK’s trade debate. Shanker Singham is director of economic policy and prosperity studies at the Legatum Institute in London. He’s [...]
Generali cuts costs, returns cash to investors and promises independence March 16, 2017 Generali, one the world's largest insurance firms, today pledged to speed up €200m (£174m) of cost cuts and keep its head below the M&A paraphet. The Italian firm posted its best ever operating profit of €4.8bn, rewarding investors from its cash-rich coffers by hiking its dividend over 11 per cent. Shares in the firm rose over 2.5 per cent in [...]
Cleaning up culture in the financial sector and holding senior managers to account is not a witch hunt, insists Andrew Bailey, chief of City watchdog March 16, 2017 Making sure financial sector bosses take responsibility for wrongdoings is not a witch hunt, the chief of the City watchdog said today. Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the financial crisis had caused many people to question whether head honchos in the City were really taking responsibility for their actions, but stressed this [...]
Canary Wharf Group is selling its stake in the Walkie Talkie – which could value it at £1.2bn March 16, 2017 Got a hankering to own one of the capital's most iconic (and controversial) landmarks? You could be in luck, after it emerged Canary Wharf Group, Morgan Stanley and others are planning to put a 50 per cent stake in the building on sale. City A.M. understands Canary Wharf Group has approached agents to sell its [...]
It’s time for the Prime Minister to do a U-turn of her own on students being included in the net migration target March 16, 2017 “You turn if you want to,” Margaret Thatcher famously told her critics, nearly 37 years ago. “The lady is not for turning.” The quotation has gone down in political folklore, an encapsulation of the former Prime Minister’s uncompromising and determined approach to government. Number 10 Downing Street’s current incumbent was compared to the late Baroness Thatcher [...]
Fintechs have a solution post-Brexit – now we must embrace the uncertainty March 16, 2017 With Article 50 set to be triggered imminently, the process of Britain leaving the EU is finally about to begin, with all that entails. Theresa May has set out plans for a Brexit that looks on the harder side of “hard”, worrying bankers and entrepreneurs alike. While fintech firms don’t welcome the prospect of regulatory [...]
Was Philip Hammond right to U-turn on his national insurance hike for the self-employed? March 15, 2017 Julian Jessop, chief economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. It is increasingly hard to justify why the self-employed should pay much lower national insurance contributions (NICs) than those who work for others. Nonetheless, this distortion should have been tackled as part of a fundamental rethink of the tax and benefit system, rather [...]
How nine City experts reacted to Philip Hammond’s NIC u-turn March 15, 2017 It's official: Philip Hammond has bowed to criticism and scrapped his controversial plans to hike National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed. Reactions from have varied, from confusion to outright glee. Here's how nine of the City's most important organisations reacted. Read more: Hammond's U-turn on National Insurance hike plans – read his letter in full [...]
City office rents propped up in uncertain times by low supply March 15, 2017 Rents in the City's offices are being propped up by low supply, with only three buildings set to be completed in the capital's financial quarter this year. This year 1 Angel Court, 45 Cannon Street and the Scalpel will be finished, and Chris Vydra, City leasing agent for CBRE, said that the dearth of new [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond has U-turned on National Insurance hike plans – read his letter in full March 15, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has U-turned on National Insurance contribution (NIC) hike plans revealed in last week's Budget. The announcement of increases to class 4 NICs was met with outcry, and the Tories were slammed for going back on a manifesto pledge to freeze taxes for five years. Hammond wrote: I am writing to clarify the government's [...]