Did RBS just move one step closer to privatisation? Share price shoots up as profits jump July 30, 2015 Shares in RBS shot up 4.2 per cent to 368.1p in early trading this morning after the bank reported profits had jumped 27 per cent in the three months to the end of June. Was that gentle creaking the sound of Royal Bank of Scotland moving one step closer to privatisation? The figures The bank said [...]
London leads the UK’s economic expansion January 11, 2016 London's economic growth is outpacing the rest of the UK, according to new survey figures published this morning. Lloyds Bank’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – compiled from a survey of businesses – scored 56.9 for the capital. Scores above 50 signal growth. The second and third fastest growing regions were the East and South East while the [...]
From Brexit to Trump, the elites have lost control over politics – and anything could happen now June 30, 2016 Dread in the pit of your stomach. A sinking suspicion that your world is in decline and prosperity may end and never return. Fear over your financial future. Last week’s Brexit vote seems to have left the City feeling exposed and unprotected. Many report feeling powerless against the historic forces that have been unleashed by [...]
Labour leadership election: Key business policies from Jeremy Corbyn, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall September 9, 2015 With three days until the new Labour leader is announced, we've looked at the business policies from each of the four candidates. Read more: Candidates clash over business as Kendall urges party to back "wealth creation" Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn has argued for a fundamental shift in economic policy. Corbyn is considered the most left-wing candidate [...]
How the EU referendum is literally playing tricks with your mind June 15, 2016 Leading Brexiters agree that we’ll be financially worse off if we exit the EU, at least in the short term. So if leaving makes us poorer, why are so many prepared to vote for it? The credit goes to Vote Leave, the Derren Brown of politics, who are brilliantly managing our cognitive biases and, literally, [...]
Property fraudster Achilleas Kallakis “must pay £3.25m” or face more prison time over Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Scotland fraud September 24, 2014 A man convicted of perpetrating fraud totalling more than £760m has been ordered to pay back just £3.25m within six months or face seven years in prison. Last January Achilleas Kallakis and his partner Alexander Williams were found guilty of defrauding the Allied Irish Bank and the Bank of Scotland out of a series [...]
Spanish vote sends Syriza-like shivers to FTSE and Eurozone – London Report May 26, 2015 FRESH back from the bank holiday, the FTSE hit a two-week closing low yesterday, with banks slipping after Spanish regional election results put Eurozone financials behind, while falling oil and metals prices hit commodity stocks. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s People’s Party suffered heavy losses in local elections on Sunday, throwing his re-election later this [...]
John Vickers says ringfencing rules are still necessary June 30, 2015 Despite some bankers calling for an end to ringfencing, John Vickers says the case for separating the retail banking and investment banking arms of banks is still necessary. The architect behind ringfencing plans has said British banks still need to protect domestic retail customers from riskier parts of their operations, and the case for this [...]
Anatomy of a sector: UK finance and professional services support 2.2m jobs, contributing 11 per cent of tax receipts and generating a £72bn trade surplus March 7, 2016 You already knew it, but here's definitive proof: supporting 2.2m jobs and contributing 11 per cent of tax receipts, finance and professional services is one of the most important sectors in the UK, according to new research. A major report by City lobby group TheCityUK shows not only that the sector is a leading employer, accounting for almost [...]
How to do things differently in the pub industry: An interview with Marston’s chief executive Ralph Findlay June 1, 2016 It's fair to say it’s been a challenging decade for the UK's pub sector. First it was hit by the smoking ban in 2007, then by the recession in 2009. Revenues across the industry have also been affected by broadly falling levels of alcohol consumption. Pub companies have been forced to rethink their strategies to stay [...]