Nikhi Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has warned that banks will face severe consequences if they are found guilty of lying about cases of ‘debanking’, amid a series of high-profile cases in recent months. Extreme action has been taken against a former chief executive of a large bank due to […]
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Saudi-backed asset management firm Ardian have signed a £2.4bn deal for the Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial’s 25 per cent stake in the airport. One other shareholder is now close to selling, with more likely to follow suit, according to a report in in The Sunday Times, which […]
Annual wages grew 7.3 per cent in the three months to the end of October, a slight fall on the month before and a figure which will give the Bank of England more freedom to hold interest rates later this week. The readout is slightly lower than consensus of 7.4 per cent and some way […]
UK lending for house purchases will fall by 8% in 2024, a trade association representing banks is predicting. In a report, UK Finance said higher interest rates and household costs would make it harder for people to access mortgage credit, which is based on affordability. It predicted this trend would also lead to falls across […]
Just two per cent of Covid fraud tip-offs are being investigated, the government has admitted. Around 98 per cent of claims phoned into the government’s coronavirus fraud hotline are not being actively pursued, ministers have said. A total of 5124 calls were made to the hotline during its existence – from October 2020 to June […]
The phasing out of fossil fuels has been dropped from the UN’s COP28 climate summit draft agreement. The text, which has to be agreed between 197 countries, states a global effort is needed to “enhance efforts towards substitution of unabated fossil fuels.” This in addition to “reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels,” although […]
Jeremy Hunt could have another £11billion for tax cuts before the election, according to a new analysis. Estimates from Capital Economics suggested that falling debt servicing costs and optimism on interest rates have gifted the Chancellor a windfall. Ruth Gregory, the deputy chief economist, said that over the past fortnight gilt yields have dropped by […]
UK recruiters have warned the Bank of England of a dip in permanent hiring across UK businesses as organisations grapple with ongoing economic turbulence, according to a new report. KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) collected data on the state of the UK jobs market for their latest UK Report on Jobs, observing […]
UK house prices rose for the second month in a row in November, according to a leading index, as a slight easing in mortgage rates helped coax more buyers into the market. The average price of a UK property rose by £1,394 – or 0.5% – last month to £283,615, according to the mortgage lender […]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has warned of “softening” in the global luxury market as underlying sales at its upmarket division, which includes the House of Fraser department stores and Flannels chain, dived more than 11%. The fall, which does not take into account acquisitions, follows the closure of a further two House of Frasers stores […]