Lloyds Bank boosts Scottish Widows by bolting on Zurich Insurance’s £15bn workplace pension arm October 12, 2017 Lloyds Bank today snapped up Zurich’s £15bn UK workplace pension arm. The lender will bolt Zurich’s operations onto its Scottish Widows business in a deal that underlined its “commitment to the financial planning and retirement segment”. Scottish Widows manages more than £124bn of assets, of which £35bn is in workplace pensions. First launched in 1812, [...]
HSBC appoints John Flint to succeed Stuart Gulliver as chief executive October 12, 2017 HSBC has appointed John Flint as the company’s new chief executive. Flint, who currently heads HSBC’s retail banking and wealth management businesses, will succeed Stuart Gulliver as executive director and group chief executive effective from 21 February 2018. Reports emerged over the weekend that the bank planned to choose Flint as its next boss. Mark [...]
One in three London car journeys to be driverless by 2025, says consortium led by Addison Lee and Ford October 12, 2017 Driverless ride-sharing could account for a third of all trips in London by private drivers in 2025, according to a government-backed consortium led by Addison Lee. Some 34 per cent of private drivers’ journeys could be replaced, while up to 30 per cent of taxi and private hire journeys could also be served by autonomous [...]
What’t the purpose of life? According to Apple’s Tim Cook, it’s not to love your job October 12, 2017 When he graduated from university in 1982, esteemed Apple boss Tim Cook was “fairly selfish” and wanted to find a job he loved. The goal came from growing up in a lower middle class family with a “very blue collar background” and a father who did not love his job. But several years later, Cook [...]
Energy price cap: Government’s temporary cap on energy prices to run until 2020 October 12, 2017 The government will today publish draft legislation to cap energy prices until at least 2020 in an effort to reduce bills for millions of households. Under the bill, energy regulator Ofgem will be required to consult and impose an absolute price cap on standard variable tariffs (SVTs), which are default tariffs that can cost hundreds [...]
Why Apple boss Tim Cook thinks AR will be bigger than VR and is the most profound technology for humanity October 11, 2017 Apple boss Tim Cook has heralded augmented reality as the most transformative technology of the future, predicting its “profound” impact on humanity. “I’m incredibly excited about AR…. because I can see uses for it everywhere,” he said, reeling of a list of applications that included education, sports and entertainment. “I can see it in every [...]
BlackRock approaching $6 trillion in assets under management as passive funds boost inflows October 11, 2017 The world’s largest asset manager, New York-based BlackRock, announced it was approaching $6 trillion (£4.54 trillion) in assets under management today as it revealed net inflows in the third quarter hit a massive $96bn. The firm’s assets under management (AUM) grew by 17 per cent year-on-year to $5.98 trillion, smashing analysts’ expectations. A Zacks Investment [...]
Mondi share price (LON:MNDI) falls after it warns on profits October 11, 2017 Shares in packaging products company Mondi sank this morning after it warned its profits would miss expectations due to cost pressures and negative currency impacts. In a trading update for the half-year to the end of June, Mondi said it expects a strong final quarter supported by higher average selling prices and good growth, but [...]
Jobs tsar Matthew Taylor warns MPs minimum wage rules would end gig economy work for Uber, Deliveroo and other on-demand platforms October 11, 2017 The government’s jobs and employment tsar has warned MPs that handing Uber drivers and Deliveroo riders minimum wage guarantees would bring the gig economy to an end. Matthew Taylor, the man behind an independent review into modern working practices, told a parliamentary committee today that the type of flexible work found in the gig economy [...]
Legoland and Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments waves goodbye to SeaWorld deal | City A.M. October 11, 2017 The owner of Legoland and Alton Towers, today confirmed it is not pursuing a possible takeover of SeaWorld. Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator, said it is “not involved in any discussions that might lead to an acquisition of SeaWorld or any of its constituent parts”. It was reported last week that Merlin [...]