The City View: Susannah Streeter and Michael Hewson on the Fed taming inflation, and the Spring Statement March 22, 2022 Today Charlie Conchie hosts The City View, talking to Hargreaves Lansdown’s Susannah Streeter and CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson. They discuss the Chancellor’s Spring Statement amidst this morning’s lacklustre public sector borrowing figures; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish remarks on inflation; and oil prices, their link to inflation, and their considerable fluctuation this week. Charlie [...]
NatWest to roll out buy-now pay-later credit as demand booms March 22, 2022 NatWest is set to be the UK’s first high-street lender to move into the booming buy-now pay-later market as it rolls out a dedicated product for customers later this year.
What are the top FTSE 100 stocks to keep an eye on as the index begins to recover? March 22, 2022 Two years ago today, the FTSE 100 index closed at 5,190 points, after its 32% covid-19 pandemic-induced crash since 17 January 2020. But even as the Russia-Ukraine war rages, the UK’s premier index is back to 7,405 points, only slightly down from its 7,611 February high. And with oil, inflation, and interest rates rising, value investors are now [...]
Tara Cemlyn-Jones takes aim at the gender gap March 16, 2022 This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Fintech specialist and former investment banker Tara Cemlyn-Jones co-founded the 25×25 initiative with a target of 25 female FTSE 100 CEOs by 2025. She talks to Lysanne Currie about the progress made and the critical role of data. Just over two years ago, prior to pandemic lockdowns, a [...]
New business growth in London at eight year high amid concern about inflation and input costs March 14, 2022 New business activity in the capital has reached an eight-year high, but optimism remains cautious with rising inflation and pressures on input costs. There has been a resurgence in trade across the London, with growth rising from 57.3 per cent in January to a three month high of 63 per cent, in February. Growth reported [...]
Letters: Can we be friends again? February 25, 2022 [Re: UK’s leading fintech bosses call on government to ramp up efforts to overhaul regulation, Feb 21] I’m surprised to see fintech leaders calling on the government to overhaul regulation. A year on from the Kalifa Review, and with investment hitting a record $37.3bn in 2021, the UK’s fintech space is thriving. I’d argue this [...]
Lloyds Bank’s profits in the lift as lender’s mortgage book surges to £293bn February 24, 2022 Lloyds Banking Group has become the latest lending giant to post a bumper annual profit haul after releasing Covid loan loss provisions thanks to the UK’s economic recovery. The group has reported pre-tax profits surging to £6.9bn in 2021, up from £1.2bn the previous year after releasing Covid loan loss provisions thanks to the UK [...]
City banks launch record recruitment drive February 24, 2022 The City banking jobs market is booming as lenders rush to reverse jobs cuts launched during the pandemic, reveals fresh figures published today. The UK’s top banks are looking to hire nearly 3,000 new candidates, according to research by recruiter Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft. A shortage of skilled workers is intensifying competition between City banks [...]
Barclays freezes ex-boss Staley’s bonus until Epstein dispute resolution February 23, 2022 Barclays has frozen all scheduled bonus payments to its former boss Jes Staley until a dispute between he and Britain’s financial regulators over the way he characterised his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is resolved. The high street lender said today all bonus payments, which amount to around 70 per cent of Staley’s total [...]
London indexes slump amid Russia-Ukraine escalation February 21, 2022 London’s top indexes plunged yesterday as investors were spooked by an apparent escalation in Russia-Ukraine tensions. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index lost 0.39 per cent to dip to 7,484.33 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dropped 1.24 per cent to 21,097.19 points. [...]