Banks struggle with PPI claims after deadline surge October 16, 2019 Customers who lodged complaints over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) may have to wait until next summer for a final response. Read more: PPI costs account for over half of all conduct and litigation in UK banks Britain’s competition watchdog has said it is challenging banks to deal with complaints as quickly as [...]
What are the three mindsets of the best investing teams? October 16, 2019 | City Talk Which mindsets correlate with investment success? The overarching answer — psychological safety — may be surprising. The investment profession tends to favour the ‘hard’ skills of discipline and process over ‘softer’ counterparts such as self-awareness and empathy. So the centrality of psychological safety to effective mindsets may raise eyebrows, especially among the quantitative practitioners who [...]
Brexit secretary: New political declaration drafted October 16, 2019 Brexit secretary Steve Barclay has this morning confirmed a new political declaration with the EU has been submitted, as the UK government attempts to secure an 11th-hour deal. Speaking this morning before the Brexit committee, Barclay said changes to the Irish backstop meant it necessarily followed that “there would be changes to political declaration”. The Cabinet [...]
Brexit negotiators will keep talking until ‘one minute to midnight’ as summit looms October 15, 2019 Brexit talks will stretch until “one minute to midnight” in order to secure a last-minute deal at this week’s European Council, Downing Street sources said yesterday. Negotiators were locked in talks throughout the night after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said a legal text must be on the table by this morning at the latest, [...]
Timeline: Here’s when everything went wrong for Neil Woodford October 15, 2019 The removal of Neil Woodford from his flagship Equity Income Fund and the announcement of the fund’s closure marks a major blow for the former star stockpicker. City A.M. has taken a look at the rise – and fall – of the famed money manager. Read more: How Woodford’s star came crashing down to earth [...]
Seplat Petroleum expands production with £382m purchase of Eland Oil & Gas October 15, 2019 Nigerian oil company Seplat Petroleum is set to acquire London-listed Eland Oil & Gas for £382m. The West African oil group will pay 166 pence per share for Eland, which translates into a premium of 28.5 per cent from the company’s closing price on Monday. Read more: Afren in talks to recapitalise after Seplat deal [...]
London’s creative industries provides £40bn spending boost to economy: new report October 15, 2019 London’s creative industry sector adds £40bn a year to its various supply chains, according to a new report. Previous figures from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport indicated that creative industries boosted London’s economy by £52bn. Read more: Anna at the National Theatre review However, a new report – commissioned by mayor of [...]
Financial Conduct Authority clamps down on motor financing commissions October 15, 2019 The UK’s financial regulator is set to crackdown on motor financing commissions in an attempt to save drivers £165m a year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced today it would ban how some auto dealers and brokers structure their sales commissions. Read more: Financial Conduct Authority sawn raids nearly doubled in 2018 The FCA said [...]
Garden Bridge Trust awarded £21m in contracts ‘prematurely’ and ‘recklessly’ October 15, 2019 Backers of the abandoned Garden Bridge awarded £21m in construction contracts before getting key land and building permits, according to a new report. The report, from the London Assembly’s Garden Bridge Working Group, details the “reckless” spending of the Garden Bridge Trust (GBT) and Transport for London (TfL) on the failed £53m project. Read more: [...]
First time buyer mortgages hit 12-year high October 15, 2019 The number of first time buyer mortgage completions in August soared to the highest level since before the financial crisis. There were 35,010 mortgage completions for new buyers – an increase of 0.7 per cent on August last year – reaching the highest level since 2007. Read more: Mortgage approvals grow despite Brexit uncertainty Andrew [...]