Bloomberg (May 29)
The Asia-Pacific region “has gone from leader to laggard.” Until recently, APAC fared remarkably well at averting the worst of the pandemic. Now, in contrast, as “New York and London reopen, Singapore and Taipei are in semi-lockdown. Melbourne joined them this week. On May 24, the U.S. State Department added Japan to its ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ advisory list.” The “failure to get shots into arms fast enough has in some cases triggered swift and unexpected reversals of fortune that carry significant economic implications.”
Tags: APAC, Economic implications, Japan, Laggard, Leader, Lockdown, London, Melbourne, New York, Pandemic, Reopen, Reversals, Singapore, Taipei, U.S.
Investment Week (April 9)
“JP Morgan chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon claimed Brexit ‘cannot possibly be a positive’ for the UK in the short term as he warned that the investment bank may one day move all European business out of London.” The bank’s 19,000 UK employees include 12,000 in London.
Tags: Brexit, Dimon, Employees, European, Investment bank, JP Morgan, London, Move, Short term, UK
Reuters (February 15)
“Brexit-supporting City figures hoping for a regulatory bonfire seem likely to be disappointed…. The BoE’s first deviation from EU law was to make the rules tighter, not looser. The supervisor also recently ruled out a big capital reduction for insurers. London may end up being smaller, but at least it will be safer.”
Tags: BOE, Brexit, Capital reduction, Deviation, Disappointed, EU law, Insurers, London, Looser, Regulatory, Rules, Safer, Smaller, Supervisor, Tighter
Financial Times (December 10)
“When the dust settles on the UK’s departure from the EU, few doubt that London will remain a major financial centre for the foreseeable future, as well as by far the largest hub in the European timezone, but there will doubtless be headwinds.”
Tags: Brexit, Departure, Doubt, Dust, EU, Financial centre, Future, Headwinds, Hub, London, Settles, UK
The Economist (May 23)
Have we reached “peak capital?” It seems London may be entering “a covid-accelerated decline,” in a shift that “could reverse three decades of ascendancy.” The UK may be “levelled up” as Boris Johnson promised, but primarily by levelling down London.
Tags: Accelerated, Ascendancy, Covid, Decline, Johnson, London, Peak capital, UK
The Economist (June 29)
The “metropolis of money, known as the City, generates £120bn ($152bn) of output a year—as much as Germany’s car industry.” Increasingly, Brexit appears to threaten an outcome that “would make the eu poorer and damage London’s position.” In addition, the end result could “change the workings of the global financial system.”
Tags: Brexit, Car industry, Damage, EU, Financial system, Germany, London, Metropolis, Money, Outcome, Output, Poorer, The City
Chicago Tribune (April 11)
“Long ago, Julian Assange wore out his welcome at Ecuador’s London embassy.” He finally “got his eviction notice Thursday…. Ecuador’s decision to hand Assange over had been a long time coming—too long. He was the embassy Guest Who Wouldn’t Leave. Now, finally, Assange has moved on to new lodgings — for the time being courtesy of the British authorities.”
Tags: Assange, Authorities, Ecuador, Embassy, Eviction notice, London, UK, Welcome
Institutional Investors (June 11)
“When the U.K. secedes from the EU, it will abandon 70 years of globalization. It will turn away from a world order that increasingly relies on supranational institutions to check the power of extremely wealthy individuals and corporations like Apple and Facebook, with market capitalizations far bigger than the GDPs of most nations.” The potential consequences of Brexit leave many in the City of London feeling threatened, but there is “a coterie of hard-right, wealthy businessmen” who are delighted about “rolling back globalization to protect their positions of power — all in the name of populism.”
Tags: Brexit, Consequences, EU, GDP, Globalization, London, Market caps, Populism, Power, Supranational institutions, U.K., Wealthy businessmen, World order
Financial Times (January 24)
Undercover reporting by the Financial Times revealed “groping and sexual harassment” at a secretive black-tie event that “has been a mainstay of London’s social calendar for 33 years.” Thursday’s event, attended by 360 men “from British business, politics and finance” with entertainment provided by 130 female hostesses, however, will be the last. The expose unleashed a deluge of criticism and The Presidents Club is disbanding.
Tags: Black-tie, Business, Entertainment, Finance, Groping, London, Politics, Presidents Club, Reporting, Secretive, Sexual harassment, Social calendar, Undercover
Reuters (January 15)
“London’s once red-hot housing market has slowed for the past year due to a double hit from higher purchase taxes on expensive homes and the June 2016 Brexit vote, which hurt demand from foreign buyers and raised fears of big job losses in the capital’s financial industry.” The average asking price dropped 3.5%, year on year, to approximately 601,000 pounds.
Tags: Brexit, Expensive homes, Financial industry, Foreign buyers, Housing, Job losses, London, Purchase taxes, UK
