City Moves 17 February: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? February 17, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. This week we see movements across the financial sector, with the City of London Group, BNP Paribas and Gateley Capitus all welcoming fresh additions. BNP Paribas AM gets new deputy CEO BNP Paribas Asset Management appointed a [...]
City of London Corporation approves new ‘green’ tower at 70 Gracechurch Street February 16, 2021 The City of London Corporation today (16 February 2021) approved another tall building development, showing a significant vote of confidence in the future of the Square Mile and a strong start to 2021. Developers Tenacity, who last month received planning permission for a 30-storey development at 55 Gracechurch Street, have now also been awarded permission for [...]
Labour should become the party of AI and tech under Keir Starmer February 16, 2021 Sir Keir Starmer has had a rough start to 2020. The Labour leader has taken a battering in the past few weeks for a perception that Starmerism has no impetus or direction, leaving some pundits to question whether he has cut through beyond the SW1 bubble. While much of this criticism should be dismissed when [...]
EU Brexit chief Maros Sefcovic says Northern Ireland issues to be fixed by 24 February February 16, 2021 European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic has told Irish lawmakers today that he wants Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit issues solved next week. Sefcovic, who is in charge of UK-EU relations for Brussels, said he wanted the border problems solved by the end of his meeting with Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove on 24 February. He also [...]
Some City investors are starting to get nervous about inflation February 16, 2021 The UK will release new inflation data later this week, but if recent investor comments and analyst notes are anything to go by, it is becoming increasingly clear that some within the investment community are starting to get nervous about inflation. According to last month’s figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s annual [...]
Five charts that show the impact of Covid-19 on the tourism industry February 15, 2021 The travel and tourism industry has been one of the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, with lockdowns and travel restrictions all but shutting business at times. Today the Office of National Statistics released its latest analysis of the impact of Covid-19 on the industry, and it doesn’t make for pretty reading. In 2018 the [...]
UK and EU plan post-Brexit Northern Ireland hotline for officials February 15, 2021 The UK and the EU are planning to create an emergency hotline for officials to discuss post-Brexit problems in Northern Ireland. European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said the Brexit treaty’s Northern Ireland protocol needed “day-to-day care” and that Brussels and London both wanted to de-escalate tensions. Tensions have escalated in Northern Ireland since the [...]
Scotland to Northern Ireland underwater tunnel could be green lit next month February 14, 2021 An underwater tunnel connecting Great Britain and Northern Ireland could get the green light as early as next month. The tunnel, which could be dubbed Boris’ Burrow, would help ease post-Brexit tensions, after Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement created checks for some goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy [...]
A new WTO boss who understands Africa is a good thing for the global economy February 14, 2021 After diplomatic horse-trading, the new head of the WTO has been all but confirmed – former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She will be the first African to take the role. The Rt. Hon. Mark Simmonds, a former Foreign Office minister with responsibility for the continent, argues it’s a good thing for the globe. Okonjo-Iweala’s familiarity [...]
UK GDP: How City analysts reacted to the record economic slump February 12, 2021 The City was hit with some sobering figures this morning, as the latest official data showed UK GDP suffered its largest annual fall on record. The economy shrank 9.9 per cent in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but narrowly avoided a double-dip recession with growth of one per cent in the final [...]