Deal spree to provide relief to the City with Shire on verge of tie-up with Baxalta January 11, 2016 A string of mega deals is set to provide welcome relief to the City after a rocky start to the year saw £85bn wiped off the value of the UK’s biggest firms in the first trading week of 2016. London-listed pharmaceutical giant Shire is on the verge of inking a £22bn deal with US rival Baxalta, [...]
Volatile pound brings foreign-trade headache for small firms August 24, 2015 EXCHANGE-rate risk is presenting a major challenge to the UK’s smaller businesses, according to survey data released today by AFEX, a provider of foreign-currency management solutions. When trading internationally, 43 per cent of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) said currency risk was their biggest challenge, up from 32 per cent last year. Currency risk arises [...]
Bristol, Newcastle and Liverpool: These are the most expensive airports to buy euros this bank holiday August 26, 2015 As the August bank holiday approaches, thousands of people are preparing to jet off to foreign climes for summer's last hurrah. But as you're packing your swimwear and passport, don't forget foreign currency. Figures compiled exclusively for City A.M. suggest that if you leave it until you reach the airport, you could stand to waste [...]
Scottish independence: A yes vote would have plunged Scotland into a deep depression September 17, 2015 The first anniversary of the Scottish referendum on independence seems a useful point at which to take stock of the economic issues that would be facing an independent Scotland if it had voted ‘Yes’ in the referendum. There were two key strands to the Scottish National Party’s economic strategy which indicate that a Yes vote [...]
Hays share price drops as weak euro and Australian dollar hit profit October 8, 2015 A positive boost from the UK’s strong jobs market was not enough to offset the negative impact of a weak euro for recruiter Hays, it said this morning, pushing its share price down 6.7 per cent. The FTSE 250 professional recruiter reported profit growth of three per cent in the three months ending 30 September, compared with the same [...]
Apple and Shell’s Eurozone bond bonanza: Corporate giants set to cash in on cheaper rates and a lower euro September 11, 2015 Two mammoths of the corporate world, Apple and Shell, stepped on to a crowded bandwagon yesterday when they decided to tap the Eurozone’s bond market to raise billions of euros. More than €53bn (£39bn) have been raised using bonds – interest-paying IOUs – by US companies so far this year, according to figures from [...]
Save money on your overseas transfers and payments September 9, 2015 If you use your high street bank to make payments overseas, then you may be paying more than you bargained for There are a number of reasons people need to send money overseas. Common examples include buying and selling international property, or sending money home if you are working overseas. An increasingly connected world means [...]
EU referendum: Treasury’s Brexit claims rubbished by Vote Leave MP John Redwood April 18, 2016 Conservative MP and Vote Leave campaigner John Redwood has rubbished the Treasury's claims that a Brexit would cost each household £4,300 a year as "absurd". Last night it emerged the government department's analysis into the impact of the UK leaving the European Union – which was published today – would show that Britain's national income could be six [...]
“They’ve hawked it up a bit”: What the economists have to say about the Federal Reserve rates decision and the euro plunge October 28, 2015 The Federal Reserve committee left interest rates unchanged at 0-0.25 per cent this evening, surprising no-one, but sending the dollar soaring. The Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement, “economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace” and said it would assess "labor market conditions, inflation pressures and financial and international developments" at its next meeting in December. Last month, [...]
Regulatory fines rocket to £2.45bn as watchdogs use new powers to ramp up punishment November 30, 2015 Regulators are flexing their muscles and ramping up punishments for financial misconduct, with fines handed out to companies guilty of wrongdoing rising 271 per cent over the past two years to hit £2.45bn. The size of the average penalty has also increased by 291 per cent, from £10.8m to £42.3m, according to new data from [...]