UK enters space race: where to watch the launch of Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl January 9, 2023 Tonight sees the first launch of a space rocket via UK soil, with an expected launch window starting at 21:45pm tonight. The LauncherOne rocket be attached under the wing of a modified Boeing 747 owned by Virgin Orbit which will take off from Spaceport Cornwall at Newquay Airport. The mission, dubbed ‘Start Me Up’ mission is a collaborative effort [...]
Barclays, NatWest and HSBC increasingly targeted by litigation funders in wave of class-action lawsuits January 9, 2023 The UK’s top banks are increasingly being targeted with class-action lawsuits as litigation funders back claims against some of Britain’s largest lenders in their pursuit of high returns. Banks listed on the FTSE 100 index are currently facing at least 109 class-action lawsuits in multiple countries around the world, according to analysis by law firm [...]
Watford-born ex McDonald’s CEO charged with misleading investors after sacking over romance January 9, 2023 Former McDonald’s chief executive officer Stephen Easterbrook has been charged by US federal regulators with making false and misleading statements to investors about the circumstances of his firing by the burger giant. Mr Easterbrook, from Watford in Hertfordshire, was ousted in November 2019 for engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a McDonald’s employee in [...]
Nuclear boss urges govt to back small modular reactors with ‘pace and urgency’ January 9, 2023 The head of the UK's leading nuclear body has urged the Government to pursue SMRs with "pace and urgency."
Bitcoin millionaires ‘drop like flies’ as FTX fallout shakes crypto market January 9, 2023 The number of bitcoin millionaires has plunged and scammers have filled their boots in the past year as the market is gripped by a ‘crypto winter’, brought on by soaring inflation and a string of high profile bankruptcies.
Lloyd’s of London syndicate Beazley launches world’s first ‘cyber catastrophe bond’ January 9, 2023 Lloyd’s syndicate Beazley has launched the world’s first ‘cyber catastrophe bond’. The insurer’s catastrophe bond protects Beazley’s balance sheet in the event it is forced to pay out more than $300m (£246m) in insurance on any cyber risk policy. Catastrophe bonds have traditionally been used to protect insurers from natural disaster risks, through deals that [...]
City A.M.: Thursday’s the new Friday – so we’re going digital only on Friday January 9, 2023 City A.M. is back on the streets of London today after a Christmas and New Year hiatus – and, responding to the new word of work, will now be a ‘digital-only’ publication on Fridays. Since returning to print in September 2021, City A.M. is back to almost 100% of its pre-pandemic circulation levels across the capital and [...]
Millennials ignored by UK’s financial institutions as boards stumble towards gerontocracy January 9, 2023 The boards of banks, asset managers and fintechs are outstripping their European rivals at female representation, but failing to take on any millennials, according to new research. EY’s report found that there were no board members under 40 in any of the UK’s top financial services firms. The report on board diversity shows that in [...]
Comparethemarket owner backs London ‘insurtech’ Superscript in £45m funding round January 9, 2023 London-based insurance fintech Superscript announced it had bagged a £45m funding round led by the owner of Comparethemarket.com today, in a boost to the UK’s burgeoning ‘insurtech’ sector after a flurry of investment in the past two years.
Santander launches buy-now pay-later offering that could be a ‘game changer’ for cash-strapped corporates January 9, 2023 Santander has announced a push into the business-to-business (B2B) buy-now pay-later market today as it looks to tap into demand from a wave of corporate firms grappling with soaring prices.