Self-styled bank sheriff Ben Lawksy hangs up his badge May 21, 2015 Banks in the UK and across Europe will be breathing a little easier next month after New York’s top financial crime cop Ben Lawsky, who mounted an aggressive campaign against some of the world’s biggest institutions, exits his role policing financial firms operating in the Big Apple to take up a West Coast teaching job. [...]
Tourism deficit? UK loses £1bn a month as residents splurge their savings on holiday May 21, 2015 Britain is losing billions each year from UK residents spending their money abroad on holidays, while overseas visitors to the UK spend less. Since the beginning of 2013, 129m UK residents have visited an overseas country – spending a total of £76.8bn. This equates to £594 being spent for each UK resident's visit abroad, according [...]
UK retail sales smash expectations rising 4.7 per cent year-on-year May 21, 2015 The retail sector smashed expectations as warm weather encouraged shoppers on to high streets across the UK last month. Retail sales volumes (excluding fuel) were up 4.7 per cent year-on-year, gaining 1.2 per cent from March, beating economist expectations of 3.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent. This was driven by textiles, clothing and footwear, [...]
Forex-rigging fines: Legal troubles continue to brew despite FX settlement May 20, 2015 European banks embroiled in the FX-rigging scandal saw their shares rise yesterday after regulatory fines came in lower than unexpected, despite further legal woes looming on the horizon in UK courts. FTSE-listed Barclays rose 3.37 per cent and RBS increased 1.78 per cent, while in Zurich UBS ended the day 3.23 per cent higher [...]
Record number of tourists flock to London: British Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Southbank Centre draw millions May 20, 2015 A total of £11.8bn was spent in London by tourists last year London attracted a record number of tourists from abroad in 2014, with 17.4m people coming to enjoy its history, culture, food and shopping. The figure marks a 3.5 per cent climb in visitor numbers on 2013, the Office for National Statistics [...]
New budget 2015: George Osborne uses CBI speech to lay out government plans to tackle the productivity puzzle May 20, 2015 George Osborne offered a glimpse of what to expect at the 8 July budget when he gave a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this evening, with productivity a major focus. Also top of the agenda is the merging of the Shareholder Executive – the body that runs the government’s financial interests in [...]
George Osborne CBI speech: Government to merge Shareholder Executive and UK Financial Investments to help return public assets to the private sector May 20, 2015 George Osborne announced this evening that the government is to merge the two bodies that manage the majority of the taxpayer’s stakes in businesses into one company. In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry, the Chancellor said the Shareholder Executive (ShEx) and UK Financial Investments (UKFI) would be made into one holding company, [...]
Eurovision Song Contest 2015: Three charts showing what would happen if winning gave you lots of power May 20, 2015 At 8pm on Saturday night, music fans from across the continent will turn on their TVs and tune into the annual Eurovision Song Contest. As usual, the event promises to fill our screens with crazy costumes, emotional love ballads and over-enthusiastic presenters covered in glitter. But it's not just a contest for raw musical [...]
Bank of England minutes: Policymakers vote 9-0 to keep rates on hold May 20, 2015 Minutes from the Bank of England's May meeting have shown little change, with the monetary policy committee again voting 9-0 to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent. Two members felt the decision was "finely balanced", implying they're thinking about reversing their vote. All members agreed interest rates "were more likely than not" to rise over the [...]
Enjoy it while you can! Analysts say deflation will not be here to stay May 19, 2015 Deflation has finally arrived in the UK for the first time since the 1960s, but economists are almost unanimous in saying it will be temporary. Inflation – as measured by the year-on-year change in the consumer price index (CPI) – was minus 0.1 per cent in April. The last time inflation was this low, [...]
