UK small business recovery stalls as firms adapt to Covid September 18, 2020 The recovery among UK small businesses slowed in August as demand for services dropped, according to a new survey, in a worrying sign that the economic rebound is running out of steam. Natwest, who produced the survey, said there was a “widening gap” between big businesses and smaller firms, the latter of which employ the [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks slide following central bank announcements September 17, 2020 The FTSE 100 continued trading in the red after the Bank of England announced it would keep monetary policy on hold, while Wall Street opened lower as tech stocks slumped. The blue-chip index dropped 0.7 per cent before inching up marginally to trade down 0.4 per cent after the bank said the economy’s recovery had [...]
Exclusive: Richer London boroughs suffer biggest fall in lockdown spending September 11, 2020 Some of London’s most prosperous boroughs suffered the biggest falls in spending during lockdown and saw a more sluggish recovery as richer households’ lifestyles were curtailed, while less affluent areas saw a smaller drop, data provided exclusively to City A.M. has suggested. Yet some of the richer boroughs – where residents have thriving food scenes [...]
Exclusive: London consumer spending soars during cheap meal scheme September 10, 2020 The Eat Out to Help Out scheme gave London restaurants a huge boost in August, with spending jumping to just 10 per cent below its 2019 level, according to the latest data provided exclusively to City A.M. Food and beverage spending in London in July was a whopping 39.1 per cent lower than a year [...]
FTSE 100 slides as pound surges but US stocks continue to rise September 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 slumped as the pound soared, but the relentless rise of the big US tech companies continued on a choppy day’s trading. London’s blue-chip stock index slid 1.8 per cent to stand at 5,859 points in afternoon trading. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap firms shed one per cent. Read more: Asian markets [...]
UK firms cut more than 106,000 jobs amid coronavirus pandemic August 19, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has battered the UK economy since it arrived in early 2020 – and no sector has remained unscathed, with more than 100,000 job cuts planned during the pandemic. The government’s furlough scheme has allowed millions of people to keep getting a paycheck, but fears are growing that when this is phased out [...]
Ranked: Monzo and Starling top list of best UK banks August 17, 2020 Digital fintechs Monzo and Starling are better than traditional banks at providing the best service to personal banking customers, according to a recent survey. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) conducted a survey of around 1,000 customers of each of the 19 largest personal current account providers in Britain to rank the best and worst [...]
Natwest to bring wealth management divisions under single leadership August 14, 2020 Natwest has today announced that it will bring all of its wealth management businesses under the single leadership of private banking chief executive Peter Flavel. In a bid to strengthen its relationship with its high and ultra-high net worth clients, the lender said the move would bring together Coutts, Adam & Company, Holt’s, Drummonds, PCAIS [...]
The City View: Lord Barker on the ‘compelling case’ to extend the furlough scheme August 13, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS In this episode Christian talks to former energy and climate change minister Greg (now Lord) Barker, who currently sits as executive chairman of Russian energy and metals giant EN+ Group. Lord Barker begins by assessing the current economic conditions and says there is a compelling case to extend the [...]
Coronavirus: Natwest to slash 500 jobs and shut London office August 12, 2020 Natwest today said it will cut at least 500 jobs across its retail business and shutter one of its London offices as it battles to cut costs during the Covid-19 crisis. The bank said it will carry out a voluntary redundancy plan affecting 550 roles in its branches and premier banking service. It will also [...]