HSBC to close Jersey accounts in crackdown on tax avoidance March 17, 2015 HSBC has begun contacting thousands of holders of Jersey accounts who live in the UK in a bid to avoid accusations that it is helping to shelter money from tax authorities. Britain’s biggest bank has written to customers with such accounts to ask them to take proof of identity to a branch on the island, [...]
Watch: Base jumper leaps from skyscrapers around Canary Wharf in heart-stopping video January 6, 2016 If your stomach turns at the mere thought of any height taller than the top of the Tube escalator, look away now – a new video reveals a never-seen-before view of the capital from one of the City's iconic skylines . One man's brave but terrifying leap from a building next to Canary Wharf (with a parachute) reveals what it's [...]
HSBC chairman: Tech firms only want your data March 24, 2015 TECHNOLOGY firms offering payment and other finance services are only interested in harvesting your data, not in providing the service itself, HSBC’s chairman Douglas Flint said yesterday. He warned that this raised privacy and data protection worries, with customer information potentially passed around many more firms. “It is clear many people who want to get [...]
Davos 2016: Who’s who at the World Economic Forum (and who’s notably absent) – from Leonardo DiCaprio to Travis Kalanick and George Osborne January 17, 2016 If it seems like Davos reads like a who’s who of the world elite, you wouldn’t be wrong. On the Swiss slopes, the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum which kicks off this Wednesday, brings together the world’s biggest politicians, business leaders and a sprinkling of celebrities to liven things up too Leonardo DiCaprio is the [...]
Why the City of London will be better off if we leave the European Union May 31, 2016 Too much of the debate about what the European Union referendum means for the City has been frustratingly narrow and short-term, confined to the immediate financial implications of leaving. Far too little attention has been paid to the longer-term health of the City, in particular the implications of remaining inside the EU. Inside the EU, [...]
EU referendum: Latest Brexit doomsday forecast suggests GDP growth will halve, an investment drought and sterling crash April 6, 2016 Brexit could compromise the City of London’s position as Europe’s top financial services centre, cause massive swings in the value of sterling, a sharp jump in inflation and at least three years of economic turmoil according to a top analytics firm, in the latest attempt to paint a picture of Brexocalypse. With opinion polls all over [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 up on banks following the Bank of England stress tests December 1, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed up today, led higher by banks after five of seven banks that took part in the Bank of England's stress tests passed. The UK's top blue-chip index rose 0.62 per cent, to 6,395 points. Five participating banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander UK and the Nationwide building society – all passed [...]
Sick-man France’s economic reform failures risk restarting the Eurozone crisis April 29, 2016 Although Britain had its own strike this week, this time by junior doctors, spare a thought for the French public who once again faced widespread industrial action yesterday. A strike was held over proposed reforms to France’s employment rules. Reform is desperately needed. Employment protection in France is higher than in any other major western economy, [...]
As HSBC says it could move its HQ, is London’s position as a global financial centre at risk? April 26, 2015 Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney BestInvest, says Yes. The news that HSBC is to consider moving its head office is a warning shot to voters and policy-makers that London’s pre-eminent position as perhaps the leading global financial centre simply cannot be taken for granted. Yes, it has “natural” advantages, being in a time zone [...]
Beware fintech’s pivot to China April 12, 2016 Ever since former Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins declared an ”Uber moment” for banks, the powers that be from the Square Mile to Canary Wharf have rushed to defend themselves against a herd of ambitious fintech unicorns. But if recent collaborations between financial titans and spritely startups are anything to go by, it appears the [...]