Abrdn snaps up stake in London crypto startup Archax August 13, 2022 Scottish asset manager Abrdn has bought a stake in the UK’s first regulated crypto trader Archax in a major vote of confidence in blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, will see Abrdn become the crypto startup’s largest external shareholder, the crypto firm said in a statement. Launched in 2018, Archax is [...]
Law Society calls for ‘sustained investment’ in courts to cut worsening case backlog August 13, 2022 The Law Society has called on the government to make “sustained investment” in the UK’s court system after new data showed the case backlog has gotten worse over the previous quarter. The backlog of cases waiting to be heard in the England and Wales Crown Courts has increased from 58,540 in April to 58,973 in [...]
Five Chinese firms vow to delist from US markets amid long running audit dispute August 13, 2022 Five Chinese state-owned companies have said they will pull themselves off the New York stock exchange amid long-running clashes between Beijing and Washington over audit standards. The five Chinese firms have said they will delist from the Wall Street market after coming under scrutiny over US regulators claims they have failed to meet US audit [...]
Russian economy shrinks by four per cent due to impacts of Western sanctions August 13, 2022 The Russian is now four per cent smaller than it was a year ago, according to new figures from the country’s state statistics agency. Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) for Q2 2022 equals a sum equivalent to 96 per cent the value of the country’s economy in Q2 2021, the preliminary Rosstat statistics show. The [...]
Magistrates court workers vote to strike over digital system August 11, 2022 Members of the union representing Magistrates’ court workers today voted in favour of plans to strike over complaints about the digitalization of England and Wales’ court systems. Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) are calling on the government to reconsider its plans to digitalise the courts through the launch of its Common Platform. [...]
Jones Day ups pay for new lawyers to £140,000 a year August 11, 2022 US law firm Jones Day is set to give its newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers 27 per cent pay rises in upping their annual salaries to heights of £140,000 a year. NQ lawyers working in Jones Day’s London offices will see their salaries surge beyond those paid out to those in the Magic Circle in seeing their [...]
Economic slowdown set to hit legal sectors’ bumper profits, new research shows August 11, 2022 The past year’s boom in dealmaking acted as a boon to the UK’s legal sector in leading to a major uptick in work for British clients. However, the economic downturn could reverse law firms’ fortunes and dent their profitability, new research from Thomson Reuters shows. Global law firms operating in the UK market saw their [...]
Zurich posts highest first-half profits since 2008 financial crash August 11, 2022 Swiss insurance company Zurich today posted its highest first-half profits since the financial crash of 2008 and its second highest profits ever. The insurer said its business operating profits increased 25 per cent compared to last year to long-term highs of $3.393bn. The uptick in Zurich’s profits, which saw it second best results ever, came [...]
Lack of social mobility in UK’s professional services sector threatens country’s growth August 11, 2022 The lack of social mobility in the UK’s financial and professional services sector poses a major threat to Britain’s “competitiveness and productivity,” the head of the Law Society has warned. The Law Society president’s warning comes after a new report from the City of London Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce showed those from working class backgrounds are [...]
Axiom founder sentenced to 14 years in prison over £100m ‘no win, no fee’ investment fraud August 11, 2022 The founder of a Cayman Islands headquartered fund, that bankrolled ‘no win, no fee’ lawsuits, has been jailed for 14 years for using millions in investors cash to finance his own extravagant spending habits. Axiom Legal Financing Fund founder Timothy Schools was today sentenced to 14 years in prison at a hearing at Southwark Crown [...]