MPs’ recess shows how little dialogue goes on normally – and we’re all the poorer for it February 16, 2018 Parliament was on one of its many breaks this week, although some news still emerged from a sleepy Westminster. Boris Johnson popped up to provide some light relief and a smidgen of Brexit policy hints, while Jeremy Corbyn was the subject of two high profile stories – an expose of his historical Soviet connections and [...]
Last Week in the City: Trade wars begin July 6, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (2 to 6 July 2018). The World Cup is “distracting” for participants in global markets, according to Citigroup. "We find that football is indeed distracting, subtly impacting market depth, traded volumes and execution cost,” the US [...]
Let GRG be a cautionary tale for finance providers that fail to understand SMEs February 27, 2018 Small businesses just want to be understood by their finance provider. And distressed businesses are those most in need of an understanding partner. In light of this, it’s startling to have the systematic mistreatment of small business customers by RBS’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG) confirmed. While RBS wasn’t shown to have targeted otherwise viable [...]
Tottenham won’t sell stars like Harry Kane this summer, vows chairman Daniel Levy January 11, 2018 Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has moved to reassure fans that they will resist any offers from Europe’s biggest clubs for record-breaking marksman Harry Kane this summer. Kane’s relentless goalscoring has made the England striker one of the game’s hottest properties and Real Madrid, who paid £85m to prise Gareth Bale from White Hart Lane in [...]
Services PMI: Pound sterling rises against the dollar and the euro as services sector beats expectations in October November 3, 2017 The pound edged slightly higher this morning after new figures showed the UK’s dominant services sector smashed expectations in October. IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for services rose to 55.6 in October, two full points above the previous month’s reading and well above expectations of a fall to 53.3. Any figure above 50 denotes [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is wrong – empty luxury flats are not causing the UK’s housing crisis February 1, 2018 Donned in obligatory high-vis luminous green jackets, chancellor Philip Hammond and communities minister Sajid Javid spent Thursday mooching around a housing development in Leicester, celebrating the construction of new homes. The announcement of an extra £10m to support housebuilding in the area was hardly groundbreaking, yet both men are thought to be considering more radical [...]
MPs haul Carillion directors in for grilling over firm’s collapse January 24, 2018 Two of the Commons’ most powerful committees have ordered former Carillion directors – including ex-chairman Philip Green – to give evidence as part of a joint inquiry into the construction giant’s collapse. The Work and Pensions Committee, headed by Labour’s Frank Field, and the BEIS Committee, headed by his colleague Rachel Reeves, have launched a [...]
Brexit deal live: UK would vote to remain in EU in a second referendum January 17, 2019 Hello and welcome to our Brexit vote live blog. Stay tuned for reaction to Labour's no confidence vote yesterday, after Theresa May's Brexit deal slumped to a historic defeat in parliament on Tuesday night. Please manually refresh this page for the latest updates What you need to know: The Prime Minister’s deal was defeated by [...]
Builders and headhunters under financial pressure as insolvencies edge up – but there could be hope for retailers November 10, 2017 The number of firms collapsing into administration rose in the third quarter, according to notices filed with the Britain’s official public record. Analysis of the London Gazette revealed some 302 companies appointed administrators during the third quarter, up from 297 in the second quarter and 295 in the same period 12 months ago. The steady [...]
Screws turn on Carillion executives as business secretary Greg Clark weighs in on misconduct probe January 17, 2018 Pressure was mounting on Carillion’s former top brass last night after the government promised a thorough investigation into the actions of the failed firm’s executives. A probe by the Official Receiver was ordered to be fast-tracked and widened by business secretary Greg Clark. “Any evidence of misconduct will be taken very seriously,” he said. Cabinet [...]