Sajid Javid to meet City figures for talks on a no-deal Brexit September 1, 2019 Sajid Javid will meet key City figures tomorrow in a bid to persuade them that a no-deal Brexit could provide opportunities for businesses. The chancellor is to hold a meeting with the bosses of financial powerhouses such as Barclays, Goldman Sachs and the London Stock Exchange Group on Monday, which will also be attended by [...]
‘Distressing decline’: UK construction sector contracts again November 4, 2019 The UK construction sector shrank once again in October, survey data has shown, with civil engineering suffering its worst month in a decade as Brexit uncertainty continued to plague the industry. Read more: UK economy to hit decade low even with Brexit deal, report warns The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a gauge of [...]
Thomas Cook pension funds in talks over buyout deal September 27, 2019 Thomas Cook’s pension funds are in talks with insurers to mitigate cuts to payments for the employees of the collapsed travel firm. Chair of trustees Steve Southern has launched discussions with several parties about a buyout deal to prevent pension scheme members losing out on payments, Sky News reported. Read more: 40 per cent of [...]
FTSE 100 trades flat as banks lead the biggest fallers February 11, 2021 The FTSE 100 is trading flat this afternoon after the excitement of corporate earnings wore off. Investors had initially been boosted by rose by Astrazeneca’s upbeat quarterly results, which is now trading up 0.8 per cent. Banks are proving to be a drag on the FTSE this afternon which slipped to trade down 0.04 per [...]
Lloyds swings to loss as it sets aside extra £2.4bn for bad loans July 30, 2020 UK banking giant Lloyds swung to a £600m pre-tax loss for the first half of the year today as coronavirus cost it an extra £2.4bn. The provision for loan losses was bigger than the £1.5bn analysts had anticipated. It took total provisions for the first half of the year to £3.8bn. Read more: Barclays braces [...]
FTSE 100 sinks deeper as oil prices continue collapse April 21, 2020 The FTSE 100’s losses mounted up today as US oil prices returned into negative territory despite Europe beginning to relax coronavirus lockdowns. London’s blue-chip index dropped 2.25 per cent by 2pm, after opening around 1.3 per cent down this morning. The FTSE 100 lost 131 points to hit 5,681 points as oil majors and energy [...]
Lloyd’s of London opens its doors for the first time since March September 2, 2020 Lloyd’s of London has reopened its doors with enhanced safety measures after nearly six months of remote working. Employees returned to the office on Tuesday after months of insurance contract negotiations taking place online and over the phone. In June the insurer, which is one of the last face-to-face financial markets, announced plans to reopen [...]
BlackRock and Mustier’s blank cheque firm eye Credit Suisse fund management arm April 9, 2021 BlackRock and Jean-Pierre Mustier’s blank-check firm are among investors expressing interest in Credit Suisse’s asset management arm, three sources told Reuters, as the Swiss lender explores options for the unit after a run of costly scandals. U.S. investment firm State Street Corp is also eyeing a rival bid for all or part of the Swiss [...]
No-deal Brexit could hit UK banks’ earnings by 25 per cent, says Citigroup August 30, 2019 US bank Citigroup has estimated that the UK leaving the European Union without a deal could cut UK banks’ earnings by as much as 25 per cent. A no-deal Brexit is likely to reduce revenue of high street lenders as economic growth slows and interest rates remain low, a note to clients from Citi analysts [...]
Natwest buys Metro Bank’s £3bn mortgage portfolio December 18, 2020 Natwest is set to buy Metro Bank’s £3bn mortgage portfolio in a deal which will see 13,000 customers transferred over to the lender. The deal comes after the high street bank returned to profit after taking a £.21bn hit from the pandemic in the first half of the year. “Growing our mortgage book is an [...]