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Bank chief economist at odds with Carney over rate rises
Andy Haldane plans to vote for a rate rise later this year as Bank governor says “now is not the time” for an increase
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Sterling drops as Carney dismisses need for higher rates
Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney said “now is not yet the time” to tighten monetary policy in his Mansion House speech today, driving down sterling to under $1.27 – a one-week low. Carney’s comments follow last week’s monetary policy committee meeting where three members voted to raise interest rates, the most hawkish […]
Bank of England staff stage protest in pay dispute
Bank staff are angry that an 1 per cent pay increase was imposed
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Brexit: Over 40% of EU City workers planning to leave UK
Forty three per cent of EU City workers are planning to leave the UK before the intended deadline for Brexit negotiations in 2019. A survey by law firm Baker McKenzie listed financial services among the top three sectors to be hit as it noted 88 per cent of EU City workers felt more vulnerable to workplace […]
UK wage growth ‘astonishingly weak’
Real wages have seen the sharpest annual fall in three years, down 1.5 per cent year on year in April, the latest UK labour market figures show. The year-on-year growth in average weekly wages dropped from 2.4 per cent in March to 1.2 per cent in April, dragging down the headline rate to 2.1 per […]
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Brexit relocations: Paris in talks with 50 fund managers
French regulator holds talks to lure UK and US firms
Morgan Stanley slashes sterling outlook on Brexit concerns
Sterling outlook takes hit as analysts await “Brexit negotiations turning constructive”.
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FCA requests fund manager Brexit plans
Regulator takes stock of contingency plans for leaving EU
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Brexit vs Trump: What poses the biggest risk for investors?
Money Marketing conference panel meets volatility debate head on
UK GDP growth revised down
UK GDP growth for the first quarter has been revised down to 0.2 per cent compared to the 0.3 per cent reported in April. The fall was “mainly due to broad-based downward revisions within the services sector”, ONS said in its second estimate. In particular, consumer facing industries such as retail and accommodation fell and household spending slowed, partly […]
Barclays looks to bolster private bank with 100 hires
Hires will be in locations including the UK, India, Dubai and Dublin
Govt sells out of Lloyds at £900m profit
Lloyds says the sale has returned £21.2bn to the taxpayer The Government has sold its final stake in Lloyds Banking Group, returning the firm to full private ownership after its £20.3bn 2008 bailout. Lloyds says the sale returned £21.2bn to the taxpayer, £894m more than the initial investment. When the bank was bailed out after the […]
Labour pushes for financial transaction tax
The Labour party says it will raise at least £4.7bn a year through a financial transaction tax set to hit share dealing and derivatives trading. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Sky News yesterday the party was asking for a “small contribution” from the City to help pay for public services. The revenue would be raised […]
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UK economy underperforms forecasts
GDP growth slows as manufacturing data disappoints UK economic data for March released today is worse than forecast in the Office for National Statistics’ growth estimates, diluting hopes that Q1 GDP could be revised up. GDP growth fell to 0.3 per cent in Q1 compared to 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter, undershooting analysts’ expectations […]
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RBS cuts back-office jobs in offshore move
Bank will create additional technology roles in India RBS will cut 92 roles from its back office and create 38 new roles in India; a move that has been criticised by union Unite. Overall, 180 permanent jobs are at risk but it is expected 88 people will be able to reapply for roles within the business so […]
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City firms announcing Brexit departures up 50%
More than a quarter of firms tracked by EY say they have plans to move staff to the EU after Brexit City firms publicly confirming contingency plans to move staff or operations to the EU post-Brexit have risen 50 per cent over the last four months, according to EY. More than a quarter of UK financial […]
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John Chatfeild-Roberts: Balancing investment risk as the Brexit clock ticks
Investors should capture performance in the good times, but also manage risks in our challenging global economic and political environment When a letter signed by Prime Minister Theresa May was delivered to President of the European Council Donald Tusk at the end of March, it formally triggered the now-famous Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and started the […]
Have UK equities survived their Brexit slump?
Data that shows the appetite for UK equities is back has left analysts and investors wondering whether the asset class has pulled through its Brexit slump. UK equity funds saw net retail sales of £114m in November, their first inflow of 2016. They had suffered £5.1bn outflows since the previous January, £3.8bn of which followed […]
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Mortgage market aims to ride out Brexit, tax changes and lending uncertainty
Mortgage market experts expect this year will bring consumer confidence worries, a boom in specialist lending, an increased regulatory burden and suppressed transactions. But they also showed a marked confidence about the future of the sector. Association of Mortgage Intermediaries chief executive Robert Sinclair says he hopes lenders keep lending and consumer confidence remains high. He […]
Regulation: Key dates for advisers’ diaries in 2017
The domestic policy agenda means that the financial services industry faces another busy year of consultation and regulatory change in 2017. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the assured leadership of Andrew Bailey continues to consult on its future Mission. Key themes that have arisen through the consultation include clarity on the sense of direction […]
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Can May keep her cabinet in line to win a bespoke deal for financial services?
From endless trade disputes to long drawn out speeches from unelected bureaucrats clinging desperately to power – there are some stark similarities between the Star Wars saga and the EU. But as Disney’s latest instalment cleans up at the box office, Prime Minister May has her own cabinet rogues to keep under control. Whether its […]
Trump marks a turning point for fixed income
What an auspicious time to be writing about fixed income. The UK 10-year gilt yield almost touched an incredible 0.5 per cent in August after the Bank of England provided its monetary response to the EU referendum result. At the time of writing, the yield stands at 1.45 per cent, removing all the price gains […]
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Tony Wickenden: Expect May to move money from rich to poor
The recent Conservative Party Conference caused me to conclude (without amazing insight on my part, I must add) that the new Government is quite different from our last one. Fundamentally different. The world it is operating in is different. Thanks to the outcome of the EU referendum it is an even more uncertain one […]
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The Govt’s high stakes poker game on Brexit
At the Conservative party conference last week, Theresa May announced she will trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017 and that a Great Repeal Bill will be brought forward at the next Queen’s Speech. While some were calling for more time before pressing the big red Article 50 button (notably one Mr George […]
Gregg McClymont: BoE policy is hitting appetite to save
I have argued previously that the UK is a nation of savers, not investors. A colleague responded by pointing out that if this was true at all it was true only relatively speaking. He was right. So many financial services industry conferences I attend culminate in the cry that the UK does not save enough. […]
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Paul Lewis: The trouble with Govt tax allowances
We have heard very little recently of the Chancellor’s friend but fiscal drag has been beavering away largely unnoticed, raising or saving money for him. Fiscal drag raises extra money when tax allowances do not rise with inflation. That brings more people into the scope of paying that tax and more money for the Chancellor. […]
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Paul Lewis: Use housing gold mine to pay for long-term care
Changes in the way long-term care is paid for was the dog that did not bark in Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement. It failed to get even a mention, despite many telling us there is a crisis in long-term care for older people. There have been calls for tax subsidies for those who save […]
Richard Buxton: QE is the wrong policy for today
It appears Prime Minister Theresa May has decided to put an industrial strategy at the centre of her “Government for everyone, not just the privileged few”. While it has been confirmed this is not about the Government “picking winners”, I am curious as to what exactly this strategy will be. It may be that once […]