FCA TO REVIEW CAPITAL MARKETS

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to carry out a ?fundamental review? of Britain's capital markets post-Brexit in order to attract foreign company listings, Clare Cole, the regulator's director of market oversight, said yesterday (The Times, £). Speaking at a City & Financial conference, Ms Cole said that reforms should take place ?over time? and there was a need to consider ?an appropriate regime for overseas issuers who are listed elsewhere and how we can help in terms of disclosure requirement?.

At the same event, Nausicaa Delfas, head of the FCA's international division, said the regulator will use its ?new flexibility? outside of the EU to ?do things differently? (Reuters). Ms Delfas said that: ?[O]ur new found position allows the FCA to have a new, more nimble approach to domestic policymaking.? Meanwhile Lord Hill, who chaired the government's recent listings review, told the conference that there was now a rare moment of opportunity to reform, adding that the ?challenge for us all is how do you keep momentum going?.

YOUNG PEOPLE HIT HARD BY COVID-19?S ECONOMIC IMPACT

Unemployment among eighteen to 24-year-olds rose by nearly a fifth during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic, constituting the sharpest rise in youth joblessness for almost three decades. Research published by the Resolution Foundation found that the unemployment rate for young black Britons had risen by more than a third during the pandemic, reaching 35 per cent (BBC News). This compared with a rate of 24 per cent for young people of Asian descent, and 13 per cent for young white people. The study concludes that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated some pre-existing gaps between ethnic groups in the UK. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested that young people are especially vulnerable to losing their jobs during the pandemic because they are concentrated into sectors such as retail and hospitality, which have been particularly impacted by lockdown restrictions (Daily Telegraph).

Meanwhile, the average price of first homes has increased during the pandemic to £222,000. According to analysis of Land Registry data, first-time buyers now require an extra £14,675 on average in order to get on the housing ladder (The Independent). A combination of tax relief, record low interest rates, and the new 95 per cent mortgage guarantee scheme has boosted demand in the property market, causing an uplift in house prices. The coronavirus pandemic has also resulted in almost ten per cent of adults turning to investments for the first time, according to Halifax Share Dealing (PA Media). 18 to 24-year-olds are especially likely to have started investing, with 16 per cent having done so for the first time over the past year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently warned that younger customers who are new to investing could be taking on significant risks with their investments, by investing in areas such as cryptocurrencies and foreign exchange schemes.

NEWS IN BRIEF

The UK economy returned to growth in February as businesses learned to cope with lockdown restrictions and new Brexit controls (Financial Times, £).

The Bank of England's chief economist Andy Haldane will be leaving the bank in June to become chief executive of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) (The Guardian).

Exports to the EU from Britain rose by 46.6 per cent to £11.6 billion in February after a record 42 per cent fall in January, while imports from the EU to the UK also rose by 7.3 per cent, according to figures from the ONS (The Times, £).

The European Commission has urged against Britain being allowed to rejoin an international legal cooperation agreement in a blow to the UK legal sector (Financial Times, £).

LATEST BLOGS

Charles Roe, our Director of Mortgages, looks ahead to UK Finance's annual Mortgage Conference which runs online from 5-7 May.