Happening now in the City: Insurance giant Convex Insurance targeted over coal November 24, 2021 Convex Insurance, the London-based insurance company, is targeted this morning at the London Market Conference by environmental organisation Market Forces, putting further pressure on the insurance company to rule out underwriting the controversial Adani Carmichael coal project. Convex has not ruled out the project despite 40+ other major insurers having done so. The Adani Carmichael [...]
Ex-PM David Cameron lobbied Tory associate at Lloyds to salvage Greensill pharmacy deal November 23, 2021 Former Prime Minister David Cameron lobbied Lloyds bank to change a decision to slash ties with ailing Greensill Capital, it has been reported. Cameron reached out to a board member whom he had ennobled during his Downing Street stint, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The newspaper cited “people familiar with the matter” as saying [...]
Banks could lose out on a fifth of deposits under Britcoin proposals – BoE November 23, 2021 The Bank of England has today admitted that commercial banks will be hit hard by plans for a digital pound backed by central bank reserves.
Martin Gilbert’s AssetCo enters bidding war for River & Mercantile November 23, 2021 Fund management veteran Martin Gilbert has been thrown into a bidding war for River and Mercantile (R&M) after the asset manager revealed it has been approached by more than one suitor. Both AssetCo, an Aim-listed acquisition vehicle chaired by Gilbert, and rival fund manager Premier Miton have made bids for R&M. Both firms already have [...]
Citi to hire 100 new staff in digital asset push November 23, 2021 International investment bank Citi plans to hire 100 new staff to bring digital asset expertise to the institutional side of the business.
Blockchain and DeFi: Drivers of change in asset management November 23, 2021 | City Talk “The future of assets is tokenized.” That’s what Mona El Isa, the founder and CEO of Avantgarde Finance, told the audience at the Alpha Summit by CFA Institute in May this year. “If you make that assumption, you can totally re-imagine the infrastructure that finance is built on,” she continued. “You can see a totally automated operational and [...]
Oil and gas decommissioning costs to hit nearly £17bn with 1.2m tonnes from North Sea to be removed November 23, 2021 With 1.2 million tonnes of disused oil and gas installations from the North Sea expected to be removed for reuse and recycling, UK oil and gas firms are being forecast to spend some £16.6bn on decommissioning work over the next decade. Industry body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) said work in this area would be [...]
Across the Channel: French prime minister tests positive for Covid-19 as Coronavirus cases climb November 23, 2021 The office of France’s prime minister confirmed early this morning that he has tested positive for Covid-19, hours after returning from a visit to neighbouring Belgium and just as France is seeing a nationwide resurgence of infections. Jean Castex will adapt his schedule for the coming 10 days to continue his activities in isolation, his [...]
It’s Friday again: Atom Bank shifts to four-day week November 23, 2021 Digital lender Atom Bank has become the biggest UK employer to shift to a four-day working week. Staff at the challenger bank, launched in 2016, will work a 34-hour week spread over four days for the same monthly pay. Staff are being encouraged to work “core hours” of 9.30am – 4.30pm between Monday and Thursday. [...]
Amazon’s merciless move to block Visa likely to lead to rapid uptake of… Amazon credit cards, which are issued by Mastercard November 22, 2021 Following the news that Amazon will no longer accept payments from UK-issued Visa credit cards, some industry insiders are convinced the e-commerce giant’s decision is a calculated move to drive the adoption of the company’s own payment cards, and will give a competitive advantage to Visa’s main rival, Mastercard. Last week, the online retailer confirmed that Visa credit [...]