‘A breath of fresh air’ vs ‘more to do’: What City grandees have to say about Sunak April 17, 2023 As Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer doesn’t tire of reminding voters: expertise beyond politics can be invaluable. For the current resident behind that most famous front door, it’s so far proved an advantage. Liz Truss’ accountancy background may not have aided her short-lived leadership bout, but – for the City’s boardrooms at least – her [...]
Government interest bill hits highest ever level for a January February 22, 2022 The government’s interest bill swelled to its level ever for a January since records began in the late 1990s as inflation burns a hole in the UK’s public finances. The amount the government spent on servicing its debt hit £6.1bn last month, up £4.5bn over the last year, according to the Office for National Statistics [...]
More than 1,000 London buildings require emergency fire measures including waking watches February 6, 2022 More than 1,000 buildings in London necessitate emergency measures, including security patrols, because of fire safety defects, five years on from the Grenfell Tower disaster. A total of 1,149 buildings in the capital need measures including ‘waking watches’, according to the latest data from the London Fire Brigade, which was first reported by the Evening [...]
How changing a single risk measure could give banks the freedom the economy needs July 28, 2023 In this guest essay, three of the City’s sharpest minds lay out a route for our biggest lenders to get their risk appetite back Since the global financial crisis of 2007/8, banks have been less able to lend to the real economy. Much of their traditional financing activity has been displaced into the more lightly [...]
Homebuyers flood back to London amid return to office February 21, 2022 Movers are flocking back to London as the spectre of the Covid-19 crisis over the capital’s housing market fades away, reveals fresh figures published today. The scrapping of restrictions on daily life to curb infections and the return to the office is driving homebuyers to put London back at the top of their desired locations. [...]
£48,247 is the highest salary the average young Brit expects to earn, ever August 31, 2022 What did you want to be when you grow up? It’s the classic question posed to children by parents and teachers around the world. The typical response usually cites career aspirations such as becoming a firefighter, doctor, nurse, sportsperson, and an astronaut, of course. But, as children become young adults ready to embark on their chosen [...]
Interview: Ovo Energy’s boss bets on green future to cement Big Six status April 20, 2023 Ovo Energy’s CEO Raman Bhatia talks about the sector’s latest challenges, from driving renewable energy to rethinking forced prepayment meters.
Firms on the hunt for staff despite labour squeeze February 23, 2022 Employers are planning on expanding their workforce despite an ongoing labour squeeze scuppering recruitment efforts, reveals a new survey published today. A net 24 per cent of companies intend to ramp up hiring over both the medium and long term, according to a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). Strong hiring intentions indicate [...]
US Federal Reserve hikes rates at quickest pace in over two decades May 4, 2022 The world’s most influential central bank today hiked interest rates at the quickest pace since 2000 in a sign the era of cheap money is coming to an end. The US Federal Reserve lifted the financial system’s key interest rate 50 basis points to a range of 0.75-1 per cent as it scrambles to douse [...]
Our politicians must wake up to the public debt effect October 5, 2022 In a novel by C.P. Snow, a physicist turned author who served as science minister under Harold Wilson in the 1960s, the master of a Cambridge college says that “gratitude isn’t an emotion, but the expectation of gratitude is a very lively one.” The prime minister and her Chancellor may well be having exactly the [...]