Lloyds share sell off set to gain pace tomorrow January 8, 2017 The government is set to ditch another £500m worth of its stake in Lloyds, with the next sale of its shares expected to be announced as early as tomorrow. In one of his earliest announcements as chancellor, Philip Hammond revealed last October that the government was now prepared to sell its remaining stake in the lender. [...]
Should we have a bank holiday for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding? November 29, 2017 Should we have a bank holiday for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding? YES – Alex Deane, Conservative commentator. Bank holidays help to generate spending in recreational and leisure sectors, while at the same time harming national productivity more generally. But let’s be realistic. We love a royal wedding and we are going to celebrate [...]
Treasury Committee chair tells City watchdog to spill the beans on RBS’ GRG February 10, 2017 The chair of the influential Treasury Committee is today calling on the City watchdog to reveal more details from its review into Royal Bank of Scotland's Global Restructuring Group (GRG). The bank was accused of purposely pushing small businesses into GRG, and effectively driving them into the ground for its own gain. Last November, the Financial [...]
Outcry from Unite the union as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) set to launch “shameless” raid on its staff’s defined benefit pensions March 21, 2016 Unite has today heavily criticised what it described as a "shameless" decision by banking giant Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to pass on £18m a year in costs of running its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to its employees. RBS' decision is a result of changes to the pension system, which effectively increased the rate of both [...]
Bill Gates ignored opportunity to buy Liverpool ahead of 2010 FSG takeover February 8, 2017 World's richest man, tech pioneer, philanthropist…football club owner? Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft and one of the world's wealthiest people, passed up on the opportunity to add the latter title to his resume after being offered Liverpool Football Club in 2010. Intermediaries trying to find a buyer for the Premier League club from [...]
New Year’s Eve 2017: What is the London weather forecast? December 31, 2017 With parts of the UK bracing themselves to be lashed by Storm Dylan, revellers in the capital can expect a largely dry night of festivities. Some 100,000 ticket holders packing the banks of the River Thames later today will be rewarded with almost rain-free conditions, weather forecasters say. The traditional firework display – 10,000 fireworks [...]
Worldpay appoints Santander’s head of innovation Peter Jackson as new UK chief executive February 2, 2017 Worldpay has appointed Banco Santander's head of innovation as its new UK chief executive. Peter Jackson joins the FTSE 100 payment processing company on 1 March, replacing Dave Hobday who left Worldpay in December to head up the RAC. He will report to group chief executive Peter Jansen. Read more: Worldpay shrugs off Brexit concerns as bumper [...]
Analysts banking on Lloyds and Barclays to have steamed ahead during 2016, as other UK lenders struggle February 19, 2017 Analysts are predicting Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays will race ahead of the pack when the UK's big banks report their earnings this week. Lloyds, which will report its 2016 full-year figures on Wednesday, is forecast a statutory pre-tax profit of £4.4bn, more than double the £1.6bn it reported in 2015, when its earning potential [...]
Dodd-Frank reform could force UK to loosen financial services regulations February 5, 2017 The UK and the rest of Europe could come under pressure to loosen financial services regulations, analysts have said, after the President of the United States last week set in motion his plans to scale back rules across the pond. Donald Trump signed an executive order for the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulations to be reviewed on [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland boss Ross McEwan will give up half of his £1m allowance to charity February 25, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive Ross McEwan is to give up half of his £1m allowance to charity for the third year in a row amid an annual pay row at the bank. McEwan is to make the announcement tomorrow, according to Sky News, despite the confidence extended to him from City investors and his [...]