Economy

Is cash still king in the capital?

After spending a few years living and working in financial services PR in the Middle East, several things have struck me upon my recent return to London.

Will a post-EU Britain still have access to the single market?

It depends who you talk to. Boris Johnson wrote in his Daily Telegraph column on Monday that there will be continued access. By contrast Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, has said there will not, as has Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary. This is a matter that will be absolutely key to the exit…

What’s all this talk about “Article 50”?

The referendum result is not legally-binding. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is the instrument which exists in law to allow for countries to leave the EU. But until it is invoked – until a prime minster presses the “red button” – Britain’s relationship with the bloc remains the same. Once it is pressed, the…

Brexit – live blog (Friday 24th June 2016)

9.20am The UK has voted to leave the European Union by 17.4m votes 16.1m. This equates to 51.9% for Leave to 48.1% for Remain. Turnout was said to be 72%. The news is being called the biggest event in Britain’s post-war history; it is loaded with implications for trade, regulation, politics and international stability which…

The Bank Of Mum And Dad Is A 100% Winner

Google the phrase Bank of Mum and Dad and you get 19.9 million hits, while doing the same with 100% mortgages produces 37.4 million.

Budget 2016 Roundup

Amidst a flurry of numbers meant to show in turn toughness, compassion, economic competence and in some cases just bamboozle, came this year’s Budget refrain of “putting the next generation first”. Despite such long term claims, the chancellor’s short term aims were not far away either, shown by his pointing to the stability of…

U-turn relief for pension savers

Raj Mody, Head of Pensions at consultants PwC, wins the prize for the most vivid reaction comment on the sudden U-turn on pension tax relief. “I heard it first on the Radio 4 news late on Friday and I nearly fell out of my bed,” he told People Management’s blog. It’s a surprise he…

The Budget – communicating times of change

In 1947 Labour Chancellor Hugh Dalton made an off-the cuff remark to a lobby journalist from an evening paper (The Star in London, apparently) that there’d be a 1d (1 penny) tax on beer and some changes to dog racing tax, football pools and purchase tax. The journalist got the story into the Stop…

Bills, bills, and more bills; EU puts Cameron in a difficult position

No one likes receiving a bill and last week the EU sent the UK a rather big one of £1.7 billion which it will need to pay by the 1st December. The Prime Minister’s reaction was, as expected, an immediate outright rejection of the payment requested in which he argued that he will challenge the…

The Rise of the Alternative Lender

The financial services industry has undergone considerable change since 2008 – both from a lending perspective and a regulatory standpoint. The overhaul of the financial watchdog has created more emphasis on capital buffers i.e. liquidity, and the part banks play in the global economy and ability to manage default risk. This increased regulatory scrutiny has…