EU leaders reach €750bn coronavirus recovery deal after marathon summit July 21, 2020 EU leaders have reached an “historic” deal on a huge coronavirus stimulus plan after a heated summit that lasted almost five days. Summit chairman Charles Michel tweeted “Deal” shortly after the 27 leaders reached an agreement in the early hours. “This agreement sends a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action,” he said [...]
UK coronavirus death toll rises by 11 bringing total to 45,312 July 20, 2020 A further 11 people have died after contracting coronavirus in the UK, the government announced today. It brings the total number of coronavirus associated deaths in the UK to 45,312, according to official Department of Health figures. There have been 580 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK in the past day, bringing the total number [...]
Signs of progress in fourth day of EU coronavirus fund talks July 20, 2020 EU talks aimed at agreeing the terms of a €750bn coronavirus bailout fund ran into their fourth day but there have been signs of progress. Germany and France said a framework had been sketched during a summit in Brussels which has been heated at points. The main division is between the countries hardest-hit by the [...]
M&G Investments has eyes on UK Mortgages July 20, 2020 M&G Investment Management is pursuing a bid for UK Mortgages on behalf of one of its managed funds, M&G Specialty Finance Fund. M&G said it had made several approaches to the listed UK Mortgages on behalf of the fund. It said all of the proposals, including the latest one at 67p per share valuing the [...]
Ant Financial to float in dual Shanghai-Hong Kong listing July 20, 2020 Alibaba’s payments arm Ant Financial has started the process of a concurrent initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The world’s most valuable tech unicorn said it would list its shares on both the Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star Market and the Hong Kong stock exchange. In a statement Ant Financial, which provides the digital payment [...]
EY told Wirecard that KPMG audit ‘risked misinterpretation’ July 20, 2020 EY reportedly told Wirecard that a draft of an independent audit lacked “context” and could lead to wrong conclusions about the firm. EY, which has been the German payments firm’s auditor for over a decade, intervened a day before the publication of the KPMG report in April, which cast doubt over Wirecard, according to the [...]
Amigo Loans swings to a loss after huge complaints bill July 20, 2020 Lender Amigo swung to a loss after taking a hit from the coronavirus pandemic and a surge in customer complaints. The figures Amigo reported a £37.9m loss for the year to the year ended 31 March 2020, down from a profit of £111m the year before. This was due to the cost of complaints jumping [...]
Real estate investment firm Castleforge Partners closes third fund at over £270m July 17, 2020 London-based real estate investment firm Castleforge Partners has today announced the close of its third commercial fund at over £270m. Castleforge Partners III exceeded its predecessor by 15 per cent, even in the face of looming Brexit uncertainty and the global coronavirus pandemic. The investment fund received support from existing investors, with around 60 per [...]
The City View: Jay Hambro on green manufacturing July 16, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Today Andy Silvester is joined by Jay Hambro, Chief Investment Officer at GFG Alliance. They talk about green manufacturing, the opportunity for building back better and the need for government to invest in manufacturing. Andy also looks at the latest unemployment numbers, Bank Chief Andrew Bailey’s call for a [...]
Morgan Stanley reports record revenues after surge in trading July 16, 2020 Morgan Stanley today revealed quarterly earnings had beaten analysts’ expectations, even as coronavirus ravaged the US economy. The Wall Street bank’s record profit was boosted by strong trading revenues which jumped nearly 70 per cent. The figures: Morgan Stanley reported net revenues of $13.4bn (£10.64bn) for the second quarter, compared with $10.2bn (£8.1bn) a year [...]