LendingCrowd thinks outside the bank using the power of the crowd November 16, 2016 Peer-to-peer firm LendingCrowd was quick to attract investment to grow in Scotland's niche crowdfunding sector. The company also had the vision to appreciate the vast fintech potential here, which thrives on over 1,000 tech firms, together with 600 financial and business companies. It’s not hard to see why peer-to-peer lending has established such a strong foothold in just a handful of [...]
Over to you, Carney – our MPC has voted to cut rates July 14, 2016 Mark Carney will reveal today whether the Bank of England will cut interest rates for the first time since March 2009, following the public’s surprise decision to vote for Brexit at the end of last month. Markets have priced in an 80 per cent chance of a cut to the main bank rate, which currently stands [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 shaping up for an impressive week May 25, 2016 We're just over half way through but UK markets seem to have a spring in their step this week as they closed even higher today on the back of "buying frezny". The FTSE 100 popped up another 0.7 per cent to 6,262.85 – the bluechip's highest close since the end of April. Banks once again led the [...]
At the open: FTSE 100 clinging on, as markets look ahead to European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate and quantitative easing decision April 21, 2016 The FTSE 100 popped, dropped then levelled off this morning, to stand down 0.06 per cent at 6,406 in the first minutes of Thursday trading. Miners started on the up after Brent Crude smashed through the $45 a barrel mark last night and held on this morning to clock in for the day at $45.84 [...]
EU referendum: Lloyds Banking Group warns of Brexit creating “economic uncertainty” April 14, 2016 Lloyds is the latest bank to issue a warning over Brexit. The banking group warned of economic uncertainty and short term volatility, while the long term impact was unclear. The group which runs Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows and is the UK's biggest retail bank with 30m customers said in a statement: "The board [...]
ECB chief economist Peter Praet warns of banking “profitability shock” May 17, 2016 Eurozone banks should brace themselves for a profitability crisis, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB) has warned today, predicting that the worst is far from over for the industry. "We have in the sector a severe profitability shock," ECB executive board member Peter Praet told a panel in Brussels this morning. Banks in the [...]
City A.M. Shadow MPC votes 9-0 to hold rates before EU vote June 16, 2016 The Bank of England has no option but to keep interest rates on hold until after the EU referendum, leading city economists and experts have said. The Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) meets today, just one week before the 23 June vote, with all eyes on governor Mark Carney who warned last month that a [...]
Make £££ interest on top current accounts this year August 17, 2016 Savers have been dealt a double whammy of blows this month. The Bank of England cut interest rates from their already-record low of 0.5 per cent down to a paltry 0.25 per cent, which is likely to have an impact on the already poor levels of interest paid on savings accounts. The 0.5 level was considered [...]
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices have hit a new high for 2016 as investors pile into banking stocks: JP Morgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup all climb April 13, 2016 US stocks have risen to highs for the year in New York, pushed on by investors piling into banking shares. Both the S&P 500 and the the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached fresh highs for 2016. The S&P 500 was up 0.7 per cent in early morning trading at 2,075.21 in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial [...]
As cunning as a ZoneFox at the Scottish Cyber Awards November 16, 2016 Cybercrime: 'together let’s crush it'. And wherever it happens in the UK for that matter. Scotland’s ZoneFox is one of many innovative cyber security organisations shortlisted for tonight's Scottish Cyber Awards. Other shining lights amongst the nominees include Edinburgh Napier University, Skyscanner, 7 Elements, Payfont, Seric Systems and My1Login. The finalists span business, academia and [...]