The City of London

London has been an important centre for finance for many years. The financial district, known simply as 'the City', occupies one square mile of central London. It is the site of the original walled city, and still has its own Lord Mayor and local government. Until very recently it was the home of the 'City gent' with black bowler hat and tightly rolled umbrella; the bowler is rarely seen today. In contrast to the entertainment district in the West End of London, the City is almost deserted at night. Although hundreds of thousands of people work in its offices by day. only about eight thousand actually live within the square mile.

Although the City is central to international finance, to many observers it seems increasingly independent of the British domestic economy. When London was an imperial capital, the City was its financial heart, but in the age of telecommunications, the City could be situated anywhere.

The Bank of England

Tins is Britain's central reserve bank. It controls other British banks, issues banknotes (although the Scottish banks still Leslie their own notes), and acts as the government's banker. The City has the greatest concentration of banks in the world and is responsible for about a quarter of international bank lending.

The Stock Exchange

London has had a Stock Exchange for dealing in stocks and shares for over 200 years. Since 1973 it has been the single International Stock-Exchange for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In March 1986 membership of the London Stock Exchange was opened to overseas companies, and commissions became negotiable. In October 1986 it became possible for stockbrokers to deal in shares through telephones and -computers instead of face-to-face on the floor of the Exchange. These dramatic changes in City practices became known as 'Big Bang': they linked London much more closely with the other major international financial centres in Tokyo and New York.

A number of international exchanges are also based in the City. These provide an international market where materials and services can be bought and sold. For example, the London Metal Exchange deals in industrial metals and the Baltic Exchange arranges the sale of half the world's ships and most of the world's sea cargo.

Lloyd's of London

The City is also a major centre for insurance services. Lloyd's of London insures everything from houses to ships through its underwriters, insurance specialists who accept risks on behalf of groups of members who are responsible for meeting any insurance claims. Lloyd's currently receives £8,000 million in payments each year. 75 per cent from outside Britain. Lloyd's also publishes detailed information on ships and their movements.

Comprehension

Use the information on these two pages to answer the questions.

1 What exactly is 'the City".'

2 Name four of the City's major financial institutions.

3 Where do 'underwriters' work? What do they do?

When was 'Big Bang'? What changes were introduced?

Discussion

Work in pairs.

1 Which institutions mentioned above would be likely to have the following information:

a the number of £10 notes in circulation in Britain?

b the international price of copper? с the cost of transporting goods by sea? d the cost of insuring a ship'.'

2 Which of the City's activities are connected with the international world of finance, and which are related to Britain's own
economy?

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 2118