The chancellor’s economic programme contains much the City should welcome November 28, 2016 The chancellor stepped up to the despatch box last week to make his most important speech since taking office in July. Where previously the Autumn Statement was an important political date on the calendar for UK media, it had gone largely unnoticed by the European press. This year, however, was different. Philip Hammond’s address was [...]
Meet the Edmond de Rothschild asset manager who launched a UK-focused fund just before the referendum (and doesn’t regret it) November 27, 2016 With the European Union referendum just two months away, April 2016 may have seemed like a bold time for a European asset manager to launch a new fund focusing exclusively on the UK – even if it looked like we were headed for a Remain vote. Shares in companies such as ITV, BT, and Marks [...]
House of Fraser CEO Nigel Oddy has resigned after less than two years at the helm as Christmas trading looms November 27, 2016 House of Fraser chief executive Nigel Oddy has resigned less than two years after taking up the post, leaving the retailer hunting for a new boss at the start of the vital Christmas trading period. Oddy will leave at some point in the new year once the company’s board has found his replacement, the company confirmed. [...]
Editor’s notes: Still in shock over Brexit? Get a grip November 25, 2016 Some corners of our national life are finding it harder to adapt to the new post-referendum reality than others. Earlier this week I joined the cream of the British commentariat at the annual Comment Awards, celebrating the best columns and comment pieces of 2016. As you know, we have a stable of excellent columnists here [...]
Here’s what Skyscanner’s biggest shareholder had to say about £1.4bn sale November 24, 2016 The biggest shareholder in unicorn tech startup Skyscanner, snapped up by Chinese firm Ctrip for £1.4bn, has told City A.M. the deal is a good one for the UK's tech industry, just a day after chancellor Philip Hammond announced measures to counter the trend of the UK's brightest companies selling rather than scaling up. "This is [...]
Architect Daniel Libeskind on returning to Poland to reshape its skyline, NYC’s World Trade Center masterplan, and President-elect Trump November 23, 2016 To Daniel Libeskind, architecture is a political act. Every building he creates is intertwined with a sense of place, culture and national identity. “Every project deserves a sensitivity to history, tradition, to something that isn’t completely visible to the naked eye, in terms of the spirit of the place,” he tells me. “There is no [...]
Shares in this French firm plummeted after a hoax press release made the rounds November 22, 2016 After all that furore over fake news on Google and Facebook, a French firm has been the victim of a rather different fake news story. Shares in construction company Vinci fell more than 18 per cent after the circulation of a fake press release said the firm would restate its accounts and sack its chief [...]
Steel group Severfield sets its sights on 1 Undershaft and Google’s new HQ after posting bumper first-half profits November 22, 2016 Steelmaker Severfield has posted bumper first-half profits for 2016 and set its sights on helping construct City skyscraper 1 Undershaft and the new Google headquarters in the capital. Shares in the structural steel group were up 12 per cent today to 69.79p after Severfield posted a 69 per cent rise in underlying profit before tax, at £8.1m, in the [...]
Bank lobby boss Anthony Browne says it’s time to stop grieving over Brexit November 22, 2016 The head of the British Bankers' Association (BBA) last night declared “the time for grieving is over” in the wake of the Brexit vote. “We should stop looking back, roll up our sleeves and look to the future,” said Anthony Browne, speaking at the BBA’s annual dinner at Mansion House. Read more: Sir Martin Sorrell: Brexit [...]
Liam Fox is hiring almost 100 civil servants for his trade department November 21, 2016 Liam Fox is hunting for almost 100 new civil servants in a bid to secure the future of the UK outside of the European Union. Fox's Department for International Trade was created to boost ties between the UK and the rest of the world after Brexit, and has posted dozens of jobs within the [...]