A rare moment of Brexit brightness from the Great Remainer January 23, 2018 | City Talk The man who first coined the term BRICs – the economics sage Jim O’Neill – has just passed a surprisingly upbeat judgment on the economic impact of Brexit. Lord O’Neill, the former head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, was a leading voice in the 2016 Remain campaign. The man who first identified Brazil, Russia, India [...]
Bayeux tapestry loan an example of epic trolling January 22, 2018 | City Talk Another day, another development in Brexit negotiations. But this time it’s a big one for the City and one that’s likely to prove the key battleground in trade negotiations with the European Union (EU) in the coming year. And as fed up as we might be with Brexit, there’s no escaping it. Not unless the [...]
Goldman Sachs has led a $38m funding round into tech firm Visible Alpha to help battle Mifid II challenges January 18, 2018 A startup which aims to help analysts and fund managers cope with dreaded regulatory changes has grabbed $38m (£27m) of funding today, from a cohort of big banks led by Goldman Sachs. Visible Alpha was launched in the run up to the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II), which is expected to radically [...]
Shell just made its first investment in blockchain with UK startup Applied Blockchain January 18, 2018 Shell has made its first investment in blockchain, the technology eliciting interest around the world because it underpins bitcoin, but which has far wider applications. The oil giant has taken a minority stake in London startup Applied Blockchain to help it explore how the technology might be applied to its business. The value of the [...]
One year into Brexit and we’re no closer to a deal January 18, 2018 | City Talk It’s a year since Prime Minister Theresa May gave her Lancaster House speech in which she set out the government’s priorities for ensuring a smooth and orderly Brexit transition. That’s right, a year. Time flies. So, it’s only natural to look back at the 12 months that have elapsed since that day and examine how [...]
The first fall in inflation in six months is promising, but there’s a long way to go yet January 17, 2018 | City Talk Has UK inflation peaked? That was the question everyone was tentatively asking on Tuesday. The truth is no-one knows, not yet anyway. Official figures at least show that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) fell by 0.1 per cent in December to 3 per cent. That is clearly welcome but it doesn’t suggest we’re out of the [...]
Are the Dow Jones and the FTSE 100 running too hot? January 16, 2018 | City Talk Face it, you’ve already asked yourself this question in the past week. What’s driving Wall Street and is it accelerating at a pace that you should now be worried about? The answer is unfortunately not very clear. On the face of it, yes, any rally that sees the Dow Jones add just shy of 800 [...]
Trump and McDonnell’s attendance at Davos is about power, politics and posturing – and little else January 15, 2018 | City Talk This time next week the great and the good of the business and political worlds will meet in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF). Known as one of the most exclusive networking events on the planet, these days events in Davos may struggle to make global headlines. The most newsworthy event of last [...]
The EU is set to suffer in the Czech Republic election January 12, 2018 | City Talk This year could be a tough test for the European Union (EU). Not only does it have Brexit looming over the horizon and a stubborn unemployment, but it also faces yet more potentially destabilising elections. Much has been written on the Italian parliamentary vote in March for its potential consequences for the Euro, but the [...]
The beauty parade for the next Bank of England Governor has begun January 11, 2018 | City Talk Not that long ago this column mentioned the fact that speculation over who would succeed Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England would begin in earnest this year. Just a few short weeks later and it has already begun. On Tuesday Reuters speculated as to who the possible successors to Mr Carney might [...]