Taxpayer stake in Natwest reduced again as government sells shares

Holly Williams

THE TAXPAYER’s stake in Natwest has been reduced again after the government offloaded another tranche of shares in the banking giant.

to fund his sister trading outfit Alameda Research. Two of his top lieutenants –Alameda chief Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang – have already pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Insolvency teams overseeing the winding up of FTX have reportedly recovered over $5bn in assets but the full scale of consumer losses are not yet clear.

The chief of Investing Reviews Simon Jones said the losses so far reported by UK customers are likely to “just be the tip of the iceberg”.

“The Financial Conduct Authority has been at pains to warn investors about the dangers of cryptocurrency, so if you’re tempted, make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Jones warned.

The watchdog has repeatedly warned consumers that they should “be prepared to lose all their money” when backing digital assets while ministers recently granted regulators more powers to clamp down on the sector.

Bankman-Fried’s illfated FTX burnt a lot of UK investors

GO WEST Earls Court Development Company reveals plans to transform 40-acre area

The Treasury’s stake in Natwest has been cut to 42.95 per cent from 43.97 per cent after the move which is part of its ongoing programme to sell down its stake.

It has sought to place more of the bank in private hands after the lender was bailed out at the height of the 2008 financial crisis with £45bn of taxpayer cash.

In March last year, Natwest confirmed it was majority owned by private investors in a milestone for the recovery of the business.

Shares in the bank have risen by

22 per cent over the past six months, while it also revealed last week that profits surged by more than a third to reach £5.1bn last year.

It handed its boss an annual bonus for the first time since the bank’s bailout by the government in 2008. Natwest likewise offered cheer for investors as its unveiled plans for a £800m share buyback and a big hike in dividends.

THE AMBITIOUS redevelopment will see this neglected, mostly derelict 40-acre site in Zone 1 London redeveloped with plans for a park bigger than Trafalgar Square, a variety of community venues and 4,500 new homes. It expects to create 15,000 new jobs in the area.

Microsoft To Bring Call Of Duty To Nvidia If Deal Struck

Microsoft has struck a 10-year deal to bring Call of Duty and other Activision games to Nvidia’s gaming platform if the Xbox maker is allowed to complete its much-contested $69bn (£57bn) acquisition of Activision. Regulators and competitors like Sony have come out hard against the proposed Microsoft-Activision tie-up, with Britain saying the deal could weaken rivalry between Xbox and Playstation ad stifle competition. The move may allay concerns by ensuring more ways for consumers to get games controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft President Brad Smith told a news conference on Tuesday he was now more optimistic of getting the Activision acquisition done after the Nvidia deal and a similar arrangement with Nintendo.

EU TO DECIDE ON GOOGLE’S ACQUISITION OF PHOTOMATH

EU antitrust regulators have set a 28 March deadline for their decision on Alphabet unit Google’s acquisition of Croatian maths app Photomath, according to a European Commission filing yesterday. The EU competition enforcer can clear the deal with or without remedies after its preliminary review or it can open a four-month long investigation if it has serious concerns. “We can confirm that we entered into an agreement to acquire Photomath in May 2022, subject to regulatory review,” a Google spokesperson said. Photomath’s app uses a smartphone’s camera or scientific calculator to recognize and explain symbolic math problems. Menlo Ventures, Learncapital, Goodwater Capital, GSV Ventures and Cherubic are investors in the company.