In the City

The outlook for the UK has improved in recent months, with a technical recession now looking like it will be avoided, according to Bloomberg Economics. In fact, the team sees GDP growth in 2023 of 0.1%, up from -0.4%.  Jim Mellon, chairman of Burnbrae, is predicting an even brighter picture. In this week’s In the City, he tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua to look out for 1 to 2% growth this year, thanks to a more stable government, an influx of migrants and gas prices falling sharply.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim O’Neill, the former UK Conservative minister and Goldman Sachs chief economist, says he doesn’t miss being in banking. And no, he wouldn’t accept an offer like we saw with Sergio Ermotti returning as chief executive at UBS. But when asked on this week’s episode of In the City whether he can explain what’s happening in the industry right now, he’s got some ideas. He also weighs in on the race to buy Manchester United, questioning whether the football club is worth its more than £4 billion price tag. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another week, another bank in crisis. This time it was Credit Suisse. After tense talks, UBS agreed to buy its former rival in an all-share deal worth about $3.25 billion. With the Swiss government-brokering the sale, Credit Suisse’s 166-year run came to a sudden end.In this week’s In the City, host Francine Lacqua is joined by Bloomberg TV’s Manus Cranny, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Paul J. Davies and reporter Marion Halftermeyer to explain the bank’s fall from grace. They also discuss details of the deal, what happens next for Credit Suisse employees, the challenge facing UBS and why Chairman Colm Kelleher is the person to watch right now.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week's In the City, the outgoing Legal & General CEO calls for a new focus on business education and talent. He also shares a life lesson from turning down an offer to be CFO at Apple.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Silicon Valley Bank was a darling of the industry. So clearly it was a very dramatic weekend.”Bloomberg Wall Street reporter Sonali Basak’s observation leads off this bonus episode of In the City, where she joins fellow reporter Mark Bergen and hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua to unpack the shocking collapse of SVB, the biggest failure of a US bank since 2008, and what happens now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

London is going through a difficult time, according to Stanhope Capital founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Pinto.  Why? Its investment appeal is dwindling—a fact made clear by a range of companies choosing to list elsewhere. The trend has been developing for some time, and bodes ill for already-flagging UK initial public offerings, says Pinto. While noting that London remains a leading financial center, he warns it has lost its competitive edge.In this week’s episode of In the City, Pinto tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua why he thinks London has been losing out. Brexit wasn’t helpful he concedes, but that’s not the only reason. The key factor is that the pool of money available for investment in British public markets has shrunk. That can be fixed with changes to regulations and pension fund reform, he says.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Manchester United bidding war has focused a lot of attention on the eye-watering prices attached to certain football clubs. A member of the Qatari royal family and Britain’s richest man submitted offers for the English football giant. The Qataris’ opening offer—roughly £5 billion ($6 billion)—might break records. But still, it may not be enough. This week news broke that the current owners, the Glazer family, think the latest offers could be too low.  In this week’s episode of In the City, reporter David Hellier joins hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua for a conversation about the competition to own Manchester United. He says don’t be surprised if more bids surface, and reflects on why the race to own the team feels different from last year’s competition to own Chelsea.  We’re also joined by Dan Jones, a sports business adviser and former Global Lead Partner for Sports Business and Head of Sports Business Group at Deloitte, and Christina Philippou, principal lecturer in accounting, economics and finance at the University of Portsmouth. They discuss why buyers are so confident in their investments, whether prices will keep growing and where Wall Street banks fit in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Man Group Chief Executive Officer Luke Ellis started his career in the City almost 40 years ago, the square mile “had many of the worst aspects of the UK,” he says. It was just “a posh part of UK society that looked down on anything other than posh White men.” But in 2023, things are different. Although he cautions more progress needs to be made, especially at the senior levels, Ellis says “the City is now at least as good as the national average and probably better” when it comes to race and gender equality. In this week’s In the City, the leader of the world’s largest publicly listed hedge fund joins hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua in a conversation about the importance of diversity in the City, and how far the UK financial industry has come in terms of recruiting from a bigger pool of talented people. One of the areas Ellis says needs more attention is “social mobility,” which he calls “the last bastion of open prejudice.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s In the City focuses on a story that’s transfixed the global finance community for weeks: the Adani-Hindenburg clash. Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren and Executive Editor Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam join hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua for a comprehensive discussion of the fraud allegations and the fallout. Aside from the obvious impact—Adani’s businesses lost $108 billion in a week—the crisis has shaken investor faith in India. Ren says that it’s acting as a “wake-up call for global investment banks and blue-chip credit funds.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK retail industry is having a difficult time of it. And when it comes to some high street brands, that’s an understatement. Similar to the US and Europe, retailers across Britain are dealing with soaring borrowing costs, shrinking savings accounts and a cost-of-living crisis that’s limiting consumer spending. This means more retailers may soon be on the brink of insolvency.In this week’s episode of In the City, hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua are joined by reporters Katie Linsell and Giulia Morpurgo, who discuss big names that have already gone bust—like Matalan and Paperchase—and others that may be at risk.  Plus, reporter Leigh-Ann Gerrans gives a tour of the retail scene around the City. Get The Brink newsletter, chronicling corporate distress and turnaround stories. Sign up now: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/the-brink See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.