Sterling rises to three-week highs on news of Brexit negotiations dinner July 7, 2020 Sterling rose to three-week highs following news that the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator would meet with Michel Barnier ahead of the next round of trade talks. A Downing Street spokesperson today said David Frost will tonight have dinner with Barnier at Number 10 this evening to discuss some of the trickier parts of negotiations. These [...]
Sadiq Khan commits an additional £2m to help Londoners retrain during pandemic July 7, 2020 Sadiq Khan is making an additional £2m available for training opportunities to help Londoners, many of whom have been furloughed or made redundant during the pandemic. The London mayor launched his Skills for Londoners Covid-19 Fund in May with an initial allocation of £6m. However, given the high levels of demand across the capital it [...]
Deutsche Bank fined $150m for compliance failures linked to Jeffrey Epstein July 7, 2020 Deutsche Bank has been fined $150m for compliance failures in connection with its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Danske Bank Estonia and FBME Bank. The New York Department of Financial Services has today accused Deutsche Bank of “a series of procedural failures” and “sloppiness” in how it dealt with Epstein’s accounts. It also said the bank, [...]
Majority of people testing positive for coronavirus reported no symptoms July 7, 2020 The majority of people testing positive for coronavirus did not report having symptoms at the time of their test, according to new data. It suggests a potentially large number of asymptomatic cases, where people spread Covid-19 without realising they are carrying it. Only a third of individuals testing positive reported evidence of coronavirus symptoms at [...]
UK coronavirus death toll passes 55,000, tally of official data shows July 7, 2020 The UK’s coronavirus death toll has hit 55,398, according to a tally of official data collated by Reuters. The number of deaths is more than 10,000 higher than reported by the government, and comprises fatalities where the virus is mentioned on death certificates and in suspected cases. The UK government’s official death toll is 44,236, [...]
Equity fund outflows hit all-time high as investors cash in after market rally July 7, 2020 Outflows from UK equity funds hit an all-time high in June as investors cashed in on their profits following the stock market rally. Investors bought heavily into the markets in April and early May, as prices remained depressed, before banking on gains in June. Last month saw the highest outflows from UK equity funds, outstripping [...]
Munich prosecutors arrest head of Wirecard’s Dubai unit July 6, 2020 Munich prosecutors have arrested the head of a Dubai-based subsidiary of Wirecard on suspicion of aggravated fraud. Oliver Bellenhaus is the second senior Wirecard employee to be arrested after the former chief executive Markus Braun last month, who has since been released on bail. The firm Bellenhaus ran, CardSystems Middle East, was the largest individual [...]
Chinese ambassador accuses UK of ‘gross interference’ over Hong Kong July 6, 2020 China has accused Britain of gross interference in its affairs since Beijing introduced new national security legislation in Hong Kong. Liu Xiaming, China’s ambassador to the UK, has claimed the government “keeps making irresponsible remarks” about the former British colony, saying it had made unwarranted accusations about the security law. The legislation punishes crimes of [...]
Audit shows Wirecard’s core business ‘has been lossmaking for years’ July 6, 2020 Wirecard’s core business in Europe and America has reportedly been lossmaking for years, raising questions about the economic health of parts of the firm not directly affected by the accounting fraud. The German firm filed for insolvency after an accounting scandal which saw €1.9bn missing from its balance sheet. Former chief executive Markus Braun was [...]
There will be a V-shaped recovery in some sectors, says Sir Martin Sorrell July 3, 2020 Advertising mogul Sir Martin Sorrell has said that the coronavirus crisis has disrupted the status quo, and companies’ recovery will be dependent on sector. Speaking to City A.M.’s City View podcast, Martin Sorrell, who has previously spoken of a V-shaped recovery, said the pandemic has pushed services further online, at a consumer level and beyond. [...]