EU referendum: This is what the Treasury thinks will happen if we vote for a Brexit April 18, 2016 A day after revealing its top line (and allowing plenty of time for the pro-Brexit camp to offer their arguments against it), the Treasury has released its 200-page report into the impact leaving the European Union will have on the UK. In it, the government department argues that whichever way you cut it, "the UK’s [...]
Ex-HSBC boss Lord Green breaks silence on Swiss tax scandal: Here’s what he said March 18, 2015 Lord Green, the former boss of scandal hit bank HSBC, has broken his silence over the Swiss tax row which engulfed the bank and saw senior executives face MPs. Green, also a former government minister, was chief executive and chairman of HSBC while its Swiss private banking arm helped wealthy clients evade tax. Now, more [...]
HSBC needs to re-learn its ABCs, or better still, its KYCs February 18, 2015 PLAC, CRD-4, the FCA and the PRA: but for HSBC, the most important acronym in the banking lexicon right now is KYC (Know Your Customer). Since inheriting the reins of Europe’s largest bank four years ago, Stuart Gulliver has rarely been out of his firefighter’s overalls. On many of those occasions it was the bank’s [...]
Warm weather to cool Christmas sales at Marks & Spencer January 4, 2016 The mildest December on record combined with intense competition on the high street is expected to spell a gloomy end of the year for retailers, with Next and Marks & Spencer the first to unveil this week how they fared over the crucial Christmas period. The wet and mild weather, security fears in the aftermath of the [...]
Emma Thompson’s husband refuses to pay tax until HSBC staff are put in prison February 25, 2015 Oscar-winning, actress Emma Thompson, will refuse to pay any tax until those involved in the HSBC tax evasion scandal are put in prison. Thompson's husband and fellow actor Greg Wise told the Evening Standard that he and his wife would stop giving money to HMRC until "everyone pays tax". Wise trumpeted his commitment to socialism [...]
HSBC spoils TSB results party with appearance before MPs – but they don’t mind February 25, 2015 It can be nerve-wracking hosting a party for the first time – what if nobody comes? Have I bought enough food? Will it clash with a more glitzy event in the social calendar? The same applies in the City, too. Yesterday was a big day for TSB, presenting its first set of full-year financial results [...]
Labour ups the HSBC pressure on George Osborne over tax evasion row February 17, 2015 Labour’s Ed Balls has increased the pressure on George Osborne in the HSBC tax evasion row, calling on the chancellor to answer key questions. Labour are attempting to up the ante on Osborne, who has barely been seen over the course of the eight-day-long political row. HSBC’s Swiss branch is accused of helping customers evade [...]
Best of the Brokers for 21 September 2015 September 20, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HSBC is an attractive buy at the current price, analysts at Berenberg said. The recent sell-off in HSBC shares seems to be a case of Deja Vu, mirroring the events of 1997-8. HSBC underperformed European banks by 50 per cent over that period [...]
Hold onto your hats: Stocks pare losses in the US but the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones still sink February 8, 2016 US markets pared losses but still finished lower this evening, after a stormy start to the week for global markets sent investors fleeing for shelter in safe havens such as gold and government bonds. The Nasdaq, which at one point dipped three per cent, settled 1.8 per cent lower. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 finished the day 1.4 per [...]
HSBC Swiss tax evasion row is not the bank’s real problem – Bottom Line February 23, 2015 HSBC’s Swiss tax row is a sideshow. It might not feel like that to bosses – chairman Douglas Flint is facing MPs in parliament tomorrow, and chief exec Stuart Gulliver agreed he feels “shame” over the affair. But it is true nonetheless – this is not the main event for the bank. Look at [...]