Chill out, take a breath, and don’t worry about wasting time August 12, 2019 Shrimp salad and a gin and tonic for lunch, then back to bed for a snooze. The relaxed recipe for creative genius, as told by Liccy Dahl at a literary event last week, on the work routine of her late husband, Roald. It got me thinking. In a world focused on the need for speed, [...]
Coronavirus: UK bank shares take a hit after dividend suspension April 1, 2020 Investors have pummelled UK banks today, sending the FTSE 350 banks index tumbling after lenders suspended dividend payments amid the coronavirus crisis. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and Santander all halted payouts yesterday following pressure from the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Traders have today responded by selling the [...]
Construction industry output ‘drops like a brick’ to a decade low September 3, 2019 Britain’s construction industry suffered its sharpest decline in new work in more than a decade last month, as economic uncertainty hampered decision making among customers. New orders slumped at their worst rate since March 2009, according to closely-followed industry barometer the IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which read just 40 for the category where [...]
UK manufacturing sector records worst month in six years July 1, 2019 UK manufacturing fell to its lowest level of output since February 2013 last month, according to a closely followed measure of industry activity. The sector’s downturn deepened in June as it fell to a 76-month low of a score of 48 on IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) measure, released today. Read more: Eurozone manufacturing [...]
Thomas Cook falls into liquidation as rescue talks collapse September 23, 2019 Thomas Cook has collapsed into liquidation after failing to find the £1.1bn required to keep it afloat. Talks collapsed overnight to sink the holiday firm, leaving around 150,000 British holidaymakers stranded abroad. Read more: Thomas Cook teeters on the brink as 11th hour talks look set to fail The government will now charter dozens of [...]
British bank bosses give up bonuses amid coronavirus crisis April 8, 2020 Top bosses at British banks including Natwest and Lloyds have taken salary cuts and ditched bonuses worth millions of pounds as consumers and businesses suffer the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Natwest chief executive Alison Rose will donate a quarter of her remaining salary for 2020 — set at £2.2m per year — to a [...]
Societe Generale plunges to first quarter loss on bad loan provisions April 30, 2020 Societe Generale posted a first-quarter loss today, blaming provisions for bad loans which jumped threefold as a response to the coronavirus crisis. The French banking giant said it lost €326m (£283m) during the quarter, compared to a €686m profit last year. Revenue fell 16.5 per cent to €5.17bn and underlying net income fell 90.8 per [...]
UK bank shares: A pre-Brexit view March 12, 2019 Some UK bank shares have made massive profits for shareholders, but how should you play the sector now? It’s been a few weeks since the last of the big UK-listed banks published results for 2018, and share price performance since has been varied. Brexit, of course, has played its part and, with some lenders up [...]
City Moves for 29 April 2019 – Who’s switching jobs at Hambro Perks, Cushman & Wakefield and Relendex? April 29, 2019 Today's City Moves includes Hambro Perks, Cushman & Wakefield and Relendex. Hambro Perks The London-based venture firm, Hambro Perks, has announced the appointment of Svenja Grundmann as investment associate. Svenja Grundmann has joined the company to work alongside portfolio manager Jemma Bruton and Richard Tufft, venture partner and co-head, in building out the Access Fund. [...]
Lloyds unveils plan to pay retailers offering cashback February 19, 2019 Lloyds Banking Group and Visa are piloting a scheme to pay retailers that offer cashback to customers, amid fears for rural town shops that have been hit by the disappearance of ATMs in recent months. In a bid to increase the number of outlets where people can withdraw their money, Lloyds and Visa have said today [...]