The U.K. economy grew by 0.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, beating market estimates, and potentially boosting the chances of a rate hike by the Bank of England. This was a rise of 1.5 percent year-on-year, according to the Office for National Statistics, with services and manufacturing being the main drivers of […]
Read moreLloyds Banking Group said its pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year rose 38 percent to 4.5 billion pounds ($5.91 billion), building on the eight-year profit record it achieved in the first six months of the year. Britain’s biggest retail bank also said it would improve the rate at which it generates […]
Read moreEuropean stocks are set to open lower on Wednesday morning as investors look out for new earnings reports and economic data. The FTSE 100 is seen down by 21 points at 7,508; the DAX is set to open lower by 26 points at 12,995 and the CAC 40 is expected to start the day lower […]
Read moreMario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), is set to reveal details of a reduction in monetary stimulus Thursday in what could be the most eventful meeting of the central bank this year. The expectation for this week’s ECB meeting are very clear: Nothing less than the big “taper” plan for next […]
Read moreHouse Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday he wants his chamber to pass a tax bill by Thanksgiving, an ambitious goal as Republicans have not yet released a draft tax plan. Following Senate passage on a “slightly slower track,” Ryan told reporters he still aims to have a bill signed into law by the end of […]
Read moreThe debate over “tax reform” has, by design, a kind of bloodless technocratic sound to it. But lurking behind the euphemism and the sometimes-arcane details is a big debate about inequality, political power, and the nature of economic growth. It’s no accident that by 2016 the richest 1 percent of the population had earned 24 […]
Read moreFormer finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was elected speaker of Germany’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday, a position from which he will try to impose discipline on far-right lawmakers who opposed his appointment. Schaeuble won 501 of 705 votes from fellow lawmakers for the post of Bundestag president, or speaker. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), […]
Read moreBritain’s markets watchdog said it has opened an investigation into the hacking of U.S. credit reporting agency Equifax, which affected nearly 700,000 UK citizens. “The Financial Conduct Authority announces today that it is investigating the circumstances surrounding a cybersecurity incident that led to the loss of U.K. customer data held by Equifax Ltd on the […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
Apple Pay rival Fitbit Pay launches in the UK — but just one small fintech bank supports it
Fitbit has launched its payments processing app in the U.K. Fitbit Pay, the wearable tech firm’s answer to competitor giants like Apple Pay and Android Pay, will be available initially with one bank in Britain — fintech start-up Starling. Starling customers in the U.K. can now use Fitbit’s Ionic smartwatch to make contactless payments in […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
Spain’s government says it’s prepared to discipline disobedient Catalans
Spain‘s central government is prepared to discipline Catalan citizens who chose to disobey direct rule from Madrid, the Spanish government’s official representative in Catalonia told CNBC. “The Spanish government is going to have the responsibility of taking decisions of a disciplinary nature if there is a rejection, by any functionaries, of any of the orders […]
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