Global markets rally as Fed taper fears ease August 24, 2021 Global markets rallied today, driven by expectations that the US Federal Reserve will outline its plan to rein in the wave of monetary stimulus unleashed in response to the Covid crisis at Jackson Hole this week receding. The blue-chip S&P 500 rose 0.29 per cent to 4,492.46 points in early afternoon trading, while the Dow [...]
Ailing subprime lender Amigo registers near sevenfold rise in losses August 24, 2021 Losses at subprime lender Amigo ballooned more than sevenfold over the last year as it contends with the swelling cost of repaying customers it misssold loans to. The guarantor lender’s losses before tax increased 648 per cent compared to the same period in 2020, rising to £283.6m from £37.9m. The widening losses were primarily driven [...]
Mervyn King: Central banks cannot solve most of society’s problems August 24, 2021 A former governor of the Bank of England has warned that central banks cannot be relied on to solve most of society’s problems. Writing for Bloomberg, Mervyn King said there are “serious challenges to our societies. But the gravity of an issue is not the sole, nor even the most important, criterion for central-bank involvement. [...]
Lloyd’s losses set to swell to £2bn as surge in business interruption claims squeezes bottom line August 24, 2021 Insurance market Lloyd’s is set to swing to a £2bn loss, triggered by a surge in claims on business interruption policies, according to fresh analysis. Research from Insurance DataLab shows the London market nursed losses that were £1.6bn higher than 2019’s figure last year. Lloyd’s abysmal performance last year was driven by a poor performance [...]
Retail sales soar at fastest pace in nearly seven years August 24, 2021 Retail sales in the UK surged at their fastest pace in nearly seven years this month highlighting that the wave of consumer spending unleashed since the initial Covid unlocking still has legs, according to fresh figures released today. New data from the Confederation of British Industry shows retail sales swung to their highest growth rate [...]
ESG: full speed ahead, sat-nav still required August 24, 2021 | City Talk Sustainable investing based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors has become central to how we invest. Investors are demanding more from their asset managers: they want to invest based on their values and they are demanding more accountability from companies about addressing changing societal issues. Indeed, the Index Industry Association (IIA)’s most current latest [...]
SEC issues new disclosure rules for Chinese companies to list in New York August 24, 2021 The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new disclosure requirements to Chinese companies seeking to list in New York amid Beijing’s regulatory crackdown. The SEC has started to give some Chinese companies detailed instructions about greater disclosure of their use of offshore vehicles, known as variable interest entities for IPOs, implications for investors, [...]
Boots launches Deliveroo partnership from today August 24, 2021 Boots has announced it is exclusively partnering with Deliveroo to provide health and beauty products to consumers’ doors. The partnership will launch at 14 pilot stores across the country including in Edinburgh, London and Nottingham. Sales on the retailer’s website were up 85 per cent between 1 March 2020 and 1 March 2021 compared to [...]
US stocks open higher to cancel out last week’s rout August 23, 2021 US stocks rose sharply today to help claw back sharp losses registered in last week’s deeply volatile trading environment. The blue-chip S&P 500 jumped 0.95 per cent to 4,483.95 points, while the Dow Jones climbed 0.72 per cent to 35,372.11 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was on track for another record high, surging 1.59 per cent [...]
Lloyds hires Barclays exec to lead debt capital markets division August 23, 2021 Barclays exec Miray Muminoglu has been appointed as the new head of Lloyds Bank’s financial institutions debt capital markets and securitised products group. Muminoglu, who currently works as managing director, head of term funding within Barclays’ group treasury unit, will join Lloyds Bank in London this November, reported Financial News. Muminoglu has over 30 years [...]