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Humza Yousaf has won the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National party, paving the way for him to become Scotland’s first minister. The 37-year old health secretary won 52.1 per cent of the vote of SNP members in the second round of voting, beating Kate Forbes, the finance secretary, who

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has warned of increased risks to financial stability and the need for vigilance following the recent banking sector turmoil in advanced economies. Speaking at a conference in Beijing, the IMF head said uncertainties in the world economy remained “exceptionally high”, with global economic growth expected to slow below 3 per

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has raised concerns over Rokos Capital Management after the hedge fund was forced to hand over large amounts of cash to its banks as collateral when an outsized bet on US government bonds backfired earlier this month. SEC chair Gary Gensler brought up the hedge fund during calls with

Olaf Scholz rejected comparisons between Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse as a slump in the German lender’s shares sparked a further day of turmoil for the banking sector. Speaking after Deutsche shares fell 14 per cent, the German chancellor sought to shore up confidence in the country’s biggest bank, with investors still nervous after the

The Bank of England has increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25 per cent, despite the turmoil that has engulfed banking in recent weeks. The rise, which was in line with economists’ forecasts, comes a day after data showed that the annual rate of inflation jumped from 10.1 per cent

UK inflation unexpectedly accelerated in February, adding to pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates again at its meeting on Thursday. The annual rate of consumer price inflation rose to 10.4 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. That was up from 10.1 per cent in January

Janet Yellen will signal further US government backing for deposits at smaller American banks if needed, a shift that seeks to protect parts of the country’s banking system struggling in the recent financial turmoil. Amid mounting evidence that panicked depositors are pulling savings out of regional banks, the US Treasury secretary will say guarantees offered

A unit of New York Community Bancorp has agreed to buy “substantially all” deposits and some loan portfolios of the collapsed Signature Bank, the US federal deposit agency announced on Sunday. From Monday, Flagstar Bank will acquire 40 former Signature branches, which will be rebranded under its name, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said. The

UBS has offered to buy Credit Suisse for up to $1bn, with Swiss authorities planning to change the country’s laws to bypass a shareholder vote on the transaction as they rush to finalise a deal before Monday. The all-share deal between Switzerland’s two biggest banks is set to be signed as soon as Sunday evening

Credit Suisse, UBS and their key regulators are racing to thrash out a deal on the historic merger of Switzerland’s two biggest banks as soon as Saturday evening, people familiar with the situation told the Financial Times. The Swiss National Bank and regulator Finma have told international counterparts that they regard a deal with UBS

The OECD has urged central banks to “stay the course” and continue raising interest rates despite turmoil in financial markets, warning that inflation was still the main threat to the world economy. In an update to its November economic forecasts, completed as tensions mounted this week in the banking sector, the Paris-based international organisation upgraded

Credit Suisse shares rebounded sharply on Thursday after the lender revealed plans to borrow up to SFr50bn ($54bn) from the Swiss central bank and buy back about SFr3bn of its debt in an attempt to boost liquidity and calm investors. The Swiss National Bank had said on Wednesday it was willing to provide a liquidity

Budget October 27 2021 Prime minister: Boris Johnson; Chancellor: Rishi Sunak. Rishi Sunak delivered a “tax, spend and save” Budget, his third and final as UK chancellor. He raised taxes to their highest level in 70 years on the back of forecasts that gave him a £35bn annual windfall and promised to pump more money

US inflation remained hot enough to further complicate the path forward for the Federal Reserve as it contends with three bank failures and broader concerns about financial stability. The consumer price index rose 6 per cent year on year in February, following a 0.4 per cent increase from the prior month. That is a step

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank has torn into global markets, with investors ripping up their forecasts for further rises in interest rates and dumping bank stocks around the world. Government bond prices soared on Monday, posting some of the biggest rallies since the crisis of 2008, as fund managers ramped up bets that the

The UK chancellor is preparing a dramatic intervention to provide a cash lifeline to scores of tech businesses next week as he seeks to contain the damage caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Jeremy Hunt said there was “a serious risk” to tech and life sciences companies that used SVB’s UK bank, many

Silicon Valley Bank was shuttered by US regulators on Friday after customers raced to withdraw $42bn — a quarter of its total deposits — in one day and a failed effort to raise new capital called into question the future of the tech-focused lender. With about $209bn in assets, SVB has become the second-largest bank

European and Asian equities tumbled in morning trade on Friday as fears over the health of banks’ bond portfolios rattled nervous investors around the world. The region-wide Stoxx 600 fell 1.4 per cent, hit by declines in bank stocks such as Deutsche Bank and Société Générale, which fell 7.7 per cent and 4.6 per cent

EY chief executive Carmine Di Sibio has sought to reassure staff that a planned split of its audit and advisory arms will happen after the head of the business in the US told partners the deal was on pause and needed to be reworked. In a message to staff on Thursday morning, seen by the

Volkswagen is putting on hold a planned battery plant in eastern Europe and prioritising a similar facility in North America after estimating it could receive €10bn in US incentives. The decision is the latest fallout from Joe Biden’s $369bn package of subsidies and tax incentives for green technology that is luring European companies to the