UK online retailer Sosandar thinks it can score better margins than Boohoo and Asos October 30, 2017 The giants of e-commerce have become experts at selling catwalk looks to cash-strapped millennials online, but new entrants are looking to take advantage of gaps in the online market. Founders of newcomer Sosandar, Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, are targeting wealthier women who have grown up buying clothes from Asos, but now want to buy [...]
World’s biggest fund managers control more money than the total wealth of Europe October 30, 2017 The world’s 500 biggest fund managers now control over $80 trillion (£61 trillion) of money, according to research released today. Total assets under management swelled by 5.8 per cent to $81.2 trillion by the end of 2016, according to Willis Towers Watson. This means the largest fund managers in the world control more money than [...]
HMV overtakes Amazon in fight for dwindling DVD and Blu-ray sales October 30, 2017 The decline of DVDs and Blu-rays has allowed HMV to overtake Amazon to be the biggest seller of physical films in the country. HMV has fared well with new releases such as Beauty and the Beast and Logan to take its market share of physical video sales up six points to 22.5 per cent. Amazon’s [...]
Most affordable London commuter towns: How a one hour commute can save buyers £500,000 on London house prices October 30, 2017 Living an hour outside London could slash half a million pounds off house prices compared with buying a home in zones one and two of the capital, according to new research. Commuter towns such as Crawley, Windsor, Rochester and Peterborough have an average house prices of £316,000, a survey by Lloyds Bank has found. That [...]
Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein says filling London office is “outside our control” because of Brexit October 30, 2017 Goldman Sachs remains committed to its new European headquarters in London but filling it up remains “outside our control” because of Brexit, its chief executive Lloyd Blankfein tweeted today. In his second tweet in the last fortnight on Brexit, Blankfein said: “In London. GS still investing in our big new Euro headquarters here. Expecting/hoping to [...]
How much do finance professionals around the world care about ESG? October 30, 2017 | City Talk Matt Orsagh, CFA, CIPM, is a director of capital markets policy at CFA Institute, where he focuses on corporate governance issues. A recent survey by CFA Institute of more than 1,500 portfolio managers and research analysts has found interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics is maturing, though not consistently across the globe’s financial [...]
Spain’s state prosecutor calls for charges to be brought against Catalan leaders October 30, 2017 Spain’s state prosecutor has called for charges to be brought against Catalan leaders. The prosecutor has said charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds should be brought against the region. The move comes as Madrid imposes direct rule on the region for the first time in 40 years. Read more: Spain boots out [...]
Apple’s iPhone X demand is sending share prices of IQE, Dialog Semiconductor, Foxconn and more suppliers soaring October 30, 2017 Shares in firms supplying Apple’s new iPhone X have been boosted after strong demand for the devices. Shares in Apple itself closed more than three per cent higher on Friday when the device was finally released for pre-ordering. The tech giant said demand was “off the charts” easing concerns over consumer interest. Read more: Delivery [...]
Non-smokers at a Japanese company are getting six days’ extra paid leave to make up for smokers’ cigarette breaks October 30, 2017 Non-smokers working at Japanese marketing firm Piala are to get six days more paid leave than their colleagues who like a puff, in order to make up for cigarette breaks taken by smokers. The group’s head office is on the 29th floor of a Tokyo office block, and staff are required to go to basement [...]
Open Banking and PSD2 are a boon to banks, not a burden October 30, 2017 The EU’S second payment services directive (PSD2), set to come into force next year, will require banks to share current account information with third parties through APIs — providing the customer gives consent. This will allow new companies to innovate with an important data source, giving the market a much-needed competition boost. While these innovations [...]