Risky business: UBS warns that tax on billionaires will kill off risk appetite November 20, 2019 Billionaires will stop taking risks and sit on their money if they face blockbuster wealth taxes being proposed by left-wing politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, a top UBS banker for the super-rich has warned. Josef Stadler, who heads up the ultra high net worth division at the Swiss bank, has claimed that billionaires [...]
Lawyer in Lloyds shareholder action asks judge to send “firm message” to bank after “colossal risk” of HBOS acquisition February 28, 2018 Lawyers acting for Lloyds Banking Group investors in a £550m legal action over its handling of the 2008 purchase of HBOS today asked the judge in the case to send a “firm message” over the lender’s “duties to its shareholders”. The High Court heard closing arguments from Richard Hill QC, who is representing around 6,000 [...]
Business and consumers’ confidence wanes as uncertainty dominates pre-Brexit outlook June 29, 2018 British consumers and businesses are battening down the hatches in the face of heightened uncertainty as Brexit approaches, new survey evidence suggests. A widely followed measure of British consumer confidence by data firm GfK, published today, fell by two points to a negative reading of nine, as people expressed growing concerns over the economy. A [...]
Construction sector faces renewed slowdown in August as infrastructure projects lag September 4, 2018 Activity in the British construction sector slowed in August as housebuilders and civil engineering firms held back from projects, according to a bellwether survey of the industry. Expansion in the sector waned to a three-month low, with IHS Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) today retreating to a reading of 52.9 points, from a strong 14-month [...]
Explosive report published into Lloyds’s handling of HBos Reading fraud case June 19, 2018 Lloyds bank and consultancy giant KPMG came under renewed pressure today following the publication of a damning report into an historic fraud case at HBos’s Reading branch. The internal report by a Lloyds Banking Group employee, who has since departed the firm, details allegations of criminal misconduct by senior bank staff and auditors around the [...]
City A.M. shadow MPC unanimously votes to hold rates amid ‘Brexit fog’ October 31, 2018 Economists have urged the Bank of England to keep interest rates on hold at least until the “Brexit fog” has cleared. The bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) will meet on Thursday and is expected to leave rates unchanged at 0.75 per cent despite stronger-than-expected GDP growth and pay growth at its highest in almost a [...]
FTSE 100 slumps on UK credit rating downgrade as Hong Kong violence hits Asian stocks November 11, 2019 The FTSE 100 index slumped this morning after Moody’s downgraded its outlook on the UK’s credit rating, while global stocks took a hit on continued uncertainty over US and China trade talks and escalating violence in Hong Kong. The FTSE 100 fell as much as 1.19 per cent this morning to 7,271.5 points. London’s blue-chip [...]
Lloyds sells off last of its holding in Standard Life Aberdeen for £344m June 8, 2018 Lloyds Banking Group has sold off the last of its shares in Standard Life Aberdeen. The 98 million shares represent 3.3 per cent of SLA’s ordinary share capital. LBG sold the shares at 352.5p each, riasing gross proceeds of £344m. The bank said there was no impact on the income statement as the investment had [...]
Lloyds Bank share price rises as the government sells its final stake May 17, 2017 The government has sold its final stake in bailed-out lender Lloyds Bank, with the exchequer receiving £900m more than its original investment nine years ago. The Treasury put in £20.3bn to save the ailing bank at the height of the financial crisis. And this morning Lloyds Bank confirmed the state’s shareholding had been reduced to [...]
EU officials mulling post-Brexit financial reforms May 15, 2019 European officials have reportedly drawn up draft plans for a major raft of financial regulations post-Brexit. Read more: Brexit party dominates EU election vote poll as Tories lag behind According to Reuters, the European Commission has composed a 12-page document setting out the body’s plans to speed up banking measures in what looks set to [...]