Insurer RSA taps former RBS boss Hester as chief executive February 4, 2014 STEPHEN Hester has been announced as the new chief executive of troubled insurer RSA. He will receive a £950,000 pay packet and a possible bonus worth 300 per cent of his salary in the first year. Hester takes over from Martin Scicluna, chairman of the group, who took on the role of interim chief executive [...]
Lloyds latest to suffer hitch as ATMs go down January 27, 2014 THOUSANDS of Lloyds customers were frozen out of key banking services yesterday afternoon and evening as the bank’s IT systems went down. The crash hit all of the group’s main brands including Lloyds, TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland. Around half of the group’s 7,000 cash machines went down, and some customers were affected until [...]
Carney upgrades UK economy from World Cup contender to marathon hopeful July 23, 2014 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has yet again updated his sporting metaphors. Choosing to ditch England's World Cup chances as an analogy for the UK economy, today the central bank chief has decided to deploy an ancient event – the marathon – to capture the performance of UK plc. Speaking in Glasgow on the [...]
Miliband mulls cap on market share of banks January 14, 2014 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband is reportedly planning to introduce a cap on the maximum market share of UK banks if he wins the next general election. The leader of the opposition plans to legislate for a cap on how large a bank can become and will announce his plans on Friday, according to BBC Newsnight. [...]
Scottish independence: How a Yes vote would “markedly lower” GDP growth September 10, 2014 With the polls tightening and the possibility of a break-up of the United Kingdom looking ever more credible, politicians and investors are weighing up the possible consequences of a Yes vote. Axa Investment Managers has released a research note examining the economic aftermath for the remaining part of the UK in the event of a [...]
Housing boom is nationwide September 16, 2014 HOUSE prices boomed at record rates across the UK in the year to July, according to official data released yesterday, despite separate and more recent figures showing growth rates levelling off. Prices rose 11.7 per cent in the year to July with London leading the way at 19.1 per cent. Prices paid by first-time buyers [...]
Scottish independence: New poll shows dip in support for No September 16, 2014 A new poll has shown that support for Scottish independence has risen to 48 per cent. The poll, conducted by the Telegraph and Research agency Opinium, demonstrates that the result of Thursday’s vote remains almost too close to call. Compared to a poll published last week, Telegraph/Opinium say support for independence has risen [...]
London Report: Interest rate hike threat takes shine off FTSE’s bull run January 22, 2014 THE UK’S FTSE 100 eased off eight month highs yesterday after strong jobs data raised the spectre of interest rate hikes and analysts highlighted concerns about companies’ weak earnings and high valuations. Data showed the unemployment rate dropped to 7.1 per cent in the three months to November, below even the most optimistic analyst forecast [...]
Scottish independence: Why the referendum matters July 14, 2014 Even a “No” vote will mean radical shifts in political power. Warnings of market complacency have come thick and fast recently. Just yesterday, Bank for International Settlements chief Jaime Caruana said investors are ignoring the prospects of coming rate rises amid a giddy hunt for yield, while the geopolitical crises tearing through the [...]
Bank denies Scottish independence currency union talks with John Swinney ever took place August 14, 2014 The Bank of England slapped down a Scottish minister yesterday, after he claimed talks were underway over the future of the sterling. “The Scottish government has had technical discussions with the Bank of England regarding our proposal for a currency union and we welcome their continued acknowledgement that the Bank will introduce whatever the politicians [...]