FTSE 100 close: London index kicks off new week softly ahead of expected Bank of England rate hike January 30, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a new week in soft style today, with gains held lower by investors sweating over a string of big central banks raising interest rates this week. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.25 per cent to 7,784.88 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
London businesses increasingly confident they can power UK economy out of recession January 30, 2023 London businesses are increasingly confident they can power the UK out of any recession it gets itself into, a closely watched survey published today reveals. Optimism among the capital’s firms rose at the fastest pace out of any region in the UK this month, jumping 29 points to 37 per cent, according to research by [...]
Fleet Street site amongst a host of Barclays bank branch closures January 28, 2023 Barclays has announced the closure of 15 branches across the country, meaning over 100 banks are slated to shut down so far this year. The bank is set to close 14 branches across England and one in Wales from late April to the first few days on May. Sites in London, Gosport, Bridgwater and St [...]
Exclusive: London beats New York to be crowned best city for female entrepreneurs – but concerns raised over tech deficit January 26, 2023 London has overtaken New York and San Fransisco as the best city in the world for female entrepreneurs after startups grew at a “colossal” rate during the pandemic, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The 2023 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index, compiled with Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), showed the capital ranked top against 55 [...]
NatWest to shutter two London branches in latest round of closures taking UK total to 66 January 26, 2023 Natwest will close a further 23 branches between April and June this year, including two in London, as the shuttering of its presence on Britain’s high streets picks up pace. The closures add to the 43 branches Natwest has already confirmed will be closing in 2023. Only two of the branches – Clapham High Street [...]
FTSE 100 close: Barclays, HSBC and Easyjet shine on otherwise poor day in London January 25, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 today gave up morning gains to finish lower before stronger-than-expected retail earnings provided a balm against recession fears. The capital’s premier index fell 0.22 per cent to 7,740.34 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, slid 0.38 per cent to [...]
Open banking body appoints former Mastercard and Natwest exec to top job January 23, 2023 The body charged with overseeing the rollout of open banking in the UK has appointed a former Natwest and Mastercard executive as its new chair, City A.M. can exclusively reveal, as the regime moves into its next phase of implementation. Marion King, a former director of Payments at Natwest Group and president of Mastercard UK [...]
Banks called on to extend pandemic era support to vulnerable customers as cost of living pressures mount January 22, 2023 British banks are being called on to extend support offered to customers during the pandemic as the cost of living crisis increasingly affects vulnerable customers. A new report from Fair4All Finance – a government-backed financial inclusion body – found that “unprecedented” support from banks significantly helped customers during Covid-19 with “no detrimental impact on bottom [...]
Where are Lloyds and Halifax closing 40 branches in 2023 and what does the high street exodus mean for you? January 20, 2023 Lloyds Banking Group said it will close a further 40 branches this year, as the exodus of banking branches from Britain’s high streets continues. Lloyds will close the doors at 22 branches while there will be 18 closures at Halifax. The branches will be closed between April and June this year. The bank noted that [...]
UK banks’ shares slide on fears of recession and bad debt January 19, 2023 UK banks’ share prices dipped on Thursday as increasing fears of recession, bad debt and a fairly poor set of US bank earnings this week spooked investors. Barclays shed 2.8 per cent, HSBC 0.6 per cent and Standard Chartered 0.8 per cent. Domestic-focused lenders Lloyds and Natwest also traded lower, finishing down 1.0 per cent [...]