United Kingdom

Britain will permit banks to accept more volatility in order to remain viable

Britain will permit banks to accept more volatility in order to remain viable

To maintain the City of London’s position as a preeminent global financial centre, Britain will reform its banking regulations to permit banks to take more risks, a government official said on Tuesday.The City of London is now more competitive due to centres like Paris and Frankfurt as well as long-time rivals like New York but…

Hunt prepares a strict budget as UK inflation reaches a 41-year high

Hunt prepares a strict budget as UK inflation reaches a 41-year high

Just before Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt proposes “strong but needed” tax hikes and budget cuts to manage price growth, data indicated that rising household energy bills and food costs have driven British inflation to a 41-year high.According to the Office for National Statistics, consumer prices increased 11.1% in the 12 months ending in October, which…

Majority of Asian shares continue to rise as investors anticipate UK inflation report

Majority of Asian shares continue to rise as investors anticipate UK inflation report

While traders anticipated British inflation numbers later in the day for cues on how aggressive central banks must be to fight inflation, Asian markets were generally higher on Wednesday, helped by U.S. corporate profits. The largest MSCI Asia-Pacific share index outside of Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) increased 0.2%, but further advances were restrained by tepid declines in…

Hunt, the newly appointed UK finance minister, abruptly abandons Truss’s economic strategy

Hunt, the newly appointed UK finance minister, abruptly abandons Truss’s economic strategy

One of the largest fiscal and monetary policy boomerang motions in British history was started on Monday by new finance minister Jeremy Hunt, who cancelled Prime Minister Liz Truss’ economic plan and reduced her substantial energy subsidy in an effort to reverse a sharp decline in investor confidence. Hunt, who was tasked with stopping a…

Eutelsat & UK’s OneWeb in negotiations about all-share merge

Eutelsat & UK’s OneWeb in negotiations about all-share merge

In order to compete with projects like SpaceX’s Starlink & Amazon.com’s (AMZN.O) Project Kuiper, owned by Elon Musk, and SpaceX’s rival OneWeb, owned by the British business OneWeb, French satellite provider Eutelsat (ETL.PA) announced it was in talks with the British company. OneWeb, which has been estimated at $3.4 billion in its most relative and…

UK inflation rises to 9.4%, reinforcing bets on a hefty BoE rate raise

UK inflation rises to 9.4%, reinforcing bets on a hefty BoE rate raise

British inflation last month reached its highest level in 40 years, according to official statistics, which boosted the chance that the Bank of England will hike interest rates next month by a very unusual half percentage point. Annual consumer price inflation increased to 9.4% percent in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, up…

UK sanctions Alfa, Gazprombank and Lavrov’s step daughter

UK sanctions Alfa, Gazprombank and Lavrov’s step daughter

Britain sanctioned another wave of Russia’s banks, critical industries and a host of members of its elite. This includes Gazprombank, Alfa Bank, and a woman they said was the stepdaughter of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The sanctions on 59 Russian and six Belarusian entities and individuals included state-run shipping firm Sovcomflot, private military contractor Wagner…

Asset manager meets with UK financial minister

Asset manager meets with UK financial minister

Britain’s finance ministry met with asset managers to look at how the sector could offload holdings in Russian companies. A spokeswomen stated that they participated in the Chancellor’s roundtable with asset managers. This is on issues associated with divestment from Russian assets. The IA said that the roundtable was held by Britain’s finance minister Rishi…

UK pension schemes could face over concentration risks

UK pension schemes could face over concentration risks

UK pension schemes face increasing over-concentration risks in their corporate bond holdings. This is by following the downgrade of EDF, says AXA IM. On 17 January 2022, Fitch downgraded Électricité de France (EDF) to BBB+ meaning it was removed from high-quality AAA-A rated indices on the 31st January, by making forced sellers of those investors who…

Ethnicity next step in UK financial sector diversity

Ethnicity next step in UK financial sector diversity

Britain’s financial watchdog will publish requirements within a year for boosting ethnic diversity. This is among employees in finance, and by using targets and not quotas. The Financial Conduct Authority, Bank of England and finance ministry published a discussion paper last July. That is setting out how diversity and inclusion could be improved in one of Britain’s…