Digital challenger bank Monzo raises £71m as Micheal Moritz, Stripe and Goodwater Capital boost valuation November 7, 2017 Digital challenger bank Monzo has raised millions more investment in its biggest funding round to date, more than doubling its valuation. The startup has landed £71m from several new and existing investors which values it at £280m amid a funding boom for fintech in the UK. Renowned Silicon Valley investor Michael Moritz has backed Monzo [...]
DEBATE: Can we close the loopholes that make the Paradise Papers kind of tax behaviour legal? November 7, 2017 Can we close the loopholes that make the Paradise Papers kind of tax behaviour legal? Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, says YES. Why do we tolerate financial secrecy? Companies and individuals obviously want know who they are doing business with. Markets work less efficiently when we allow anonymous ownership. Corruption is [...]
Sink, swim, or build a lifeboat: Tips for surviving Open Banking November 7, 2017 Open Banking, which comes into place January 2018, is a landmark development for the banking industry. It will force banks to open up their Advanced Programming Interface (API). This may sound like a dry compliance point, but the reality is far from it. With customer permission, competitors will be able to access banks’ enormous – [...]
We must lay the ethical groundwork for artificial intelligence now, before it’s too late November 7, 2017 Artificial intelligence (AI) is having an identity crisis. More specifically, the concept of AI is often wrongly portrayed as a thing, a noun, a sentiment being – which it is not. The danger of overhyping and objectifying AI is that we misunderstand the valuable opportunity that presents itself, fail to fully educate the global population, [...]
British prodigy Lando Norris, 17, handed Formula One chance by McLaren November 6, 2017 British teenager Lando Norris has been backed to prove his status as “one of the very best up and coming single-seater drivers in the world” after being named as McLaren’s test and reserve driver for 2018. Norris, who turns 18 on Monday, replaces fellow countryman and former world champion Jenson Button in the role and [...]
Brent oil price hits two-year high after Saudi corruption purge November 6, 2017 The price of Brent crude surged to its highest point since mid-2015 today after the Saudi Arabian crown prince purged the ranks of the country’s elite. The price of North Sea benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose by well over three per cent to hit $64.44 per barrel. Meanwhile West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit highs [...]
HSBC and Barclays throw weight behind green finance projects November 6, 2017 HSBC and Barclays added their weight to the growing area of green finance today, with separate commitments to environmentally friendly schemes. HSBC today said it will provide $100bn in sustainable financing and investment by 2025, with support for “clean energy and lower-carbon technologies”. Unveiling a series of measures on the environment, HSBC announced it will [...]
FTSE 100 hits another record closing high as commodity prices rise November 6, 2017 A meagre gain of less than two points today was enough for the FTSE 100 to post its second consecutive record close, in spite of a stronger pound. London’s benchmark index closed at 7,562.28 points, a 0.03 per cent gain from Friday’s close. Oil companies and miners were among the leading performers as commodity prices [...]
“Strong case” for London Stock Exchange to win Saudi Aramco float says 10 Downing Street November 6, 2017 The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has a “strong case” for attracting the mega-float of part of state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco, 10 Downing Street said today. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said: “Obviously there are lots of big stock exchanges which have an interest in Aramco, including the London Stock Exchange, which we believe [...]
Former Lloyds head was aware HBOS could be nationalised but denies government pressured for a takeover November 6, 2017 Lloyds TSB’s former chief executive Eric Daniels took to the witness stand to deny that the bank had been pressured to take over HBOS at the height of the financial crisis. Daniels is the most senior executive to take to the witness stand, in an ongoing £550m trial which has seen around 6,000 shareholders attempt [...]