Aramco-backed halal fintech opens bank branch in London despite high street bank exodus January 24, 2023 Aramco is backing American fintech Wahed as it launches a physical bank in London. However, concerns of a high street bank exodus place question marks over the branch’s future success. Wahed’s first UK-based physical bank, which opens its doors today on Baker Street, has scored £61m ($75m) from the Saudi Arabian oil giant together with [...]
Beauty and the beat: Hipgnosis spends £163m to buy Justin Bieber’s hits January 24, 2023 Hipgnosis Song Management has bought the back catalogue of Canadian superstar artist and songwriter Justin Bieber in a deal reported to be worth $200m (£163m). Bieber’s songs have been streamed over 32 billion times on Spotify, where he has 82 million monthly listeners. Hipgnosis said today it had acquired Justin Bieber’s 100 per cent interest [...]
THG brings in new finance chief ahead of bleak looking year January 24, 2023 E-commerce giant THG has hired Damian Sanders as its new chief financial officer amid a recent slew of negative earning reports and a collapse in share price. Following a global search, the troubled British firm has landed on Sanders as the replacement for John Gallemore, who is moving over to the role of chief operating [...]
“A truly historic moment”: Irish filmmakers respond to record haul of 14 Oscar nominations for 2023 January 24, 2023 The Oscar nominations for 2023 have been revealed at a ceremony in Los Angeles and it is a huge year for Irish talent. Paul Mescal and Colin Farrell are both nominated for Best Actor, Mescal for indie hit Aftersun and Farrell for drama-comedy The Banshees of Inisherin. In total there has been a record 14 [...]
Crown Estates sues Twitter over unpaid rent of its Piccadilly Circus HQ January 24, 2023 Twitter is being sued by the Crown Estates over unpaid rent relating to its Piccadilly Circus-based headquarters building. The Crown Estates manages property for King Charles III and the monarchy, which includes the 10m sq Twitter headquarters in central London. The estate filed the claim against Twitter Inc, which is also facing legal action over [...]
Why Tom Hanks’ grumpy old man role in A Man Called Otto doesn’t work January 24, 2023 A Man Called Otto Star rating: ★★☆☆☆ When you think of movie stars that seem nice, Tom Hanks has to be at the top of the list. You don’t play Mr Rogers, Walt Disney, Woody, and Santa Claus without people feeling affection toward you. That’s why the two-time Oscar winner seems such an odd choice [...]
Seven travel trends for 2023 January 24, 2023 From Rebel Spending to Modern Family Travel, a new report from travel trend forecasting agency Globetrender has revealed a vision of what travel will be like in the year ahead, where people will be going to and what will be motivating their booking decisions. Download the full report here, but read on for the seven [...]
UK borrowing hits December record of £27.4bn piling pressure on Hunt ahead of March budget January 24, 2023 UK borrowing in December hit its highest total in 30 years driven upwards by the government’s debt interest bill soaring due to raging inflation, official figures out today show. The government took on £27.4bn of debt last month, the largest amount since records began in 1993, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The [...]
Bitcoin breaches $23,000 as line of resistance begins to weaken January 24, 2023 Bitcoin is up another per cent since yesterday, trading on an undulating line around $23,000 this morning, and 9% higher over seven days.
Fintech Scaling Show Podcast: The Evolution of Fintech in 2023: In Conversation with GFA Exchange with Joel Blake January 24, 2023 | Sponsored In recent years, fintech has taken the centre stage in helping facilitate an inclusive financial ecosystem, with far-reaching digital solutions that have the potential to unlock the nearly two billion people worldwide who are excluded from formal financial services. In this informative and thoughtful podcast, Joel Blake OBE, Founder & CEO of GFA Exchange sat [...]