Millennial mortgages are here: Automatic switching is go at proptech startup Trussle December 19, 2017 The era of millennial mortgages has arrived. A couple from London are the first homeowners to switch their mortgage automatically and entirely online, without the hassle of searching new deals and lengthy paperwork, thanks to an innovative property technology startup. Trussle's switching alert lets users know when they should remortgage to find a better deal. [...]
Ex-Barclays trader to pay almost £300,000 for Libor fixing December 19, 2017 A former Barclays trader who was jailed for his role in the rigging of the Libor bank rate must pay almost £300,000 in earnings deemed to be proceeds from the crime. Jay Merchant, who is currently serving five-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty in July last year, must pay £275,890 in profits along [...]
Crossrail coming: The new Tube map featuring the Elizabeth Line has been revealed with a year to go | City A.M. December 19, 2017 With a year to go until the big start of Elizabeth Line services and opening of 10 new London stations, Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled a new December 2018 Tube map featuring the Elizabeth Line. The Crossrail project is nearing the final stages of construction and the Elizabeth Line, as it will be known [...]
Five UK banks given Open Banking deadline extension by CMA December 19, 2017 Five UK banks have been given more time by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to comply with Open Banking regulations. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC, Santander and Bank of Ireland appealed to the CMA for a delay to the January deadline. Open Banking is a new digital standard that aims to give [...]
London Stock Exchange wins battle against activist investor Sir Chris Hohn December 19, 2017 The board of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group has resoundingly beaten off an attempt by activist investor Sir Chris Hohn to remove its chairman, winning a shareholder vote held today after a bitter public row over the departure of ex-chief executive Xavier Rolet. Some 79 per cent of votes cast by LSE shareholders backed [...]
Bitcoin is yet to prove its worth. We’ll need to keep an eye on it, says Japan’s finance minister December 19, 2017 Japanese finance minister Taro Aso has questioned the creditability of bitcoin. Aso said there was “no fixed definition” on whether the cryptocurrency was a currency or not. “This issue is a difficult one,” he said after a cabinet meeting. The comments come after his French counterparty said he would propose a discussion on the regulation [...]
Traders might be misunderstanding the cryptocurrency craze, and it could come back to bite December 19, 2017 There’s no doubt that people are in a frenzy over cryptocurrencies. Not just bitcoin, but ether and litecoin and a number of others have seen huge gains this year. The interest in cryptocurrencies as a whole, and the hundreds of thousands of people signing up to platforms like Coinbase, has led to investors pouring money [...]
HMS Queen Elizabeth: The Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier has sprung a leak December 19, 2017 The UK’s newest aircraft carrier has sprung a leak just weeks after being commissioned by the Queen. The HMS Queen Elizabeth is taking on water because of a faulty seal on one of its propeller shafts. The ship has been taking on up to 200 litres of sea water per hour as a result, the [...]
No special Brexit deal for the City of London or passporting for financial firms, says EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier December 19, 2017 The EU’s chief negotiator has stamped out hopes of a special deal for the City after Brexit. Michel Barnier poured cold water on the idea that a bespoke deal could be agreed for the financial services sector. “There is no place [for financial services]. There is not a single trade agreement that is open to [...]
Public Register: Investors have published their FTSE naughty list of companies with the angriest shareholders December 19, 2017 This year has been punctuated by shareholder rebellions in businesses from WPP to Persimmon to the boardroom battle currently raging over the ousting of London Stock Exchange boss Xavier Rolet. But now shareholder anger at FTSE bosses’ pay packets has been dragged into the spotlight again, after the Investment Association launched its “naughty list” of [...]