If the Tories want to win the youth vote they should forget about Love Island and get radical on housing | City A.M. July 31, 2018 It would be an exaggeration to say that the country has gone Love Island mad, but there’s no doubt that a serious chunk of the population enjoy watching the poolside antics of the toned and honed cast members of ITV’s hit ‘constructed reality’ show, with several million tuning in for last night’s final. Love Island [...]
DEBATE: Should social media sites be regulated to combat fake news and safeguard democracy? | City A.M. July 31, 2018 Should social media sites be regulated to combat fake news and safeguard democracy? Jo Stevens, Labour MP and member of the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, says YES. When we started our inquiry into fake news, we could not have predicted the sheer scale of what would be uncovered. We are facing a [...]
Retail tech startup behind Tesco and Argos valued at almost £70m, after scoring additional funding | City A.M. July 31, 2018 Virtualstock, a London tech startup which provides cloud-based inventory solutions for retailers like Tesco, Argos and John Lewis, today announced a further £3.4m in funding which has valued the business at almost £70m. Rene Schuster, the former chief executive of telecoms giant Telefonica in Germany, is also joining the firm as its chairman. The funds, [...]
England v India: How the hosts have used the Merlyn bowling machine to get to grips with spin bowling | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The recent break in the weather has brought an abrupt end to the heatwave in this country, but with India in town and more hot, dry days forecast, England know one factor may go a long way towards deciding the centrepiece of the cricketing summer. While Edgbaston, the venue for Wednesday’s first Test, isn’t renowned [...]
Jaguar XK150 Drophead Coupe review: A classic that’s been upgraded for contemporary tastes | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The Jaguar XK150 is basking, roof-down in front of a Mayfair mews house, all voluptuous curves and glinting chrome. It’s a perfect London postcard – but not, it seems, for the well-spoken chap who walks into JD Classics’ Mount Street showroom. “My fantasy car is an E-Type,” he tells me, “preferably in red.” Launched in [...]
HSBC has launched MyDeal, an app for bankers on investor roadshows | City A.M. July 30, 2018 HSBC is rolling out its MyDeal app to new clients, which aims to simplify the experience of investor roadshows with real-time updates on logistics and transactions. The app will aggregate information such as investor feedback and profiles, client orders and deal pricing, as well as keep track of important details like flight delays and contact [...]
UK fights Brussels’ rejection of City’s post-Brexit model | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The UK government has started to fight back against Brussels over the future of the City, after the most recent post-Brexit model was rejected. Negotiators have told their counterparts in Brussels that its hardline position will harm around 7,000 Europe-based investment funds that rely on British clients for business, the Guardian reports. A section of [...]
How the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy committee (MPC) are expected to vote | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The Bank of England is widely expected to raise the policy rate to 0.75 per cent on Thursday. This would be the second rate hike in a decade and take the policy rate to its highest level since 2009. Recent data have improved, but with some pockets of weakness still evident and ongoing lack of [...]
Mortgage approvals jump to five-month high as subdued market picks up | City A.M. July 30, 2018 Mortgage approvals hit a five-month high in June as Britain’s housing market shows signs of recovery from a slowdown earlier this year. British lenders approved 65,619 mortgages in June, rising 1.5 per cent from 64,684 in May and reaching the highest level since January, according to data from the Bank of England (BoE). Meanwhile, the [...]
IBM, Barclays and Citigroup are building a blockchain-based app store | City A.M. July 30, 2018 IBM and foreign exchange settlement service CLS are building a network based on blockchain technology for testing new applications. Nine financial institutions, including Barclays and Citigroup, are already signed up to participate. LedgerConnect will be an agnostic platform that offers applications provided by different vendors for a variety of services, such as customer compliance checks, [...]