Klarna boss says Brussels has produced some of ‘the worst regulation ever created’ April 4, 2022 The boss of buy-now pay-later (BNPL) giant Klarna says Brussels has held back fintech firms with prescriptive rules and produced some of the “worst regulation ever created”.
British businesses prepare to hike prices en masse January 6, 2022 British businesses are bracing for a cost assault by preparing to hike prices, reveals fresh research released today. Almost three in five firms expect to lift prices in the next three months, the highest proportion ever recorded, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Intention to lift prices is seeping into most corners of [...]
Embracing the crypto economy: Why Labour needs to take notice June 12, 2023 Simon Jennings, Executive Director of the UK Crypto Asset Business Council, is urging Labour to show it cares about the crypto economy.
Today: Govt to hold emergency talks with energy chiefs as anger over spiralling energy bills rises August 11, 2022 Energy bosses will meet with Government tomorrow, to discuss how they can ease pressure on consumers facibng record bills.
‘Hard’ assets in demand: Deals by City’s distressed private equity funds treble to £1.8bn in just one year May 9, 2022 The leading mid-tier distressed asset private equity and debt funds in the UK made a total of £1.8bn of acquisitions of businesses last year, almost treble the £670m registered in 2020 and the highest figure for five years. The 12 specialist funds acquired 26 UK businesses in 2021, up from 19 the previous year. There [...]
UK competition watchdog raises concerns over £6bn Avast buyout by cybersecurity rival March 16, 2022 The UK’s competition watchdog has raised concerns over the £6bn buyout of Avast by fellow cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock, after launching a probe into the deal in January. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced this morning that the deal, which was announced in August, between close competitors could harm competition in the market, as there [...]
The Square Mile and Me: James Ashton on Occupy London, the City’s history, and Balfour’s oysters March 16, 2023 Each week we ask the City’s great and good to delve down memory lane. This week, it’s James Ashton, the chief executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance, representing small- and mid-cap listed firms, and a former newspaper journalist What was your first job in the City? I wrote about advertising and media for Reuters, based [...]
Rishi Sunak says tax cuts are a fairy tale, but he is chasing a Sleeping Beauty fantasy July 19, 2022 TIMES are tough. We need a bold plan to tackle the cost of living and get growth going. I have heard my friend Rishi Sunak argue that this is not the time to cut taxes, despite people facing the heaviest burden since the 1940s. With all due respect to the former chancellor, he is acting [...]
Omicron onslaught: Wave of bankruptcies as insolvencies climb with voluntary liquidations up by 73 per cent January 18, 2022 The latest monthly insolvency statistics, published this morning by The Insolvency Service for the month of December 2021, show that the number of registered company insolvencies in England and Wales is 33 per cent higher than the number registered than two years ago, just before the pandemic. These rises were particularly influenced by the higher [...]
Insolvencies surge to highest rates since financial crash as voluntary bankruptcies hit record levels August 2, 2022 The UK government’s Insolvency Service today said it recorded a higher number of insolvencies over the past three months than at any other point in more than a decade, after the numbers of companies declaring voluntary bankruptcies hit their highest levels since records began. The past three months saw a total of 5,629 English and [...]