Buy-now see-you-later? FCA boss slams claims BNPL firms will quit UK due to regulation July 19, 2023 The chief of the City watchdog said he does not “buy the argument” that buy-now pay-later (BNPL) firms will quit the UK today after it emerged ministers may shelve planned rules over fears firms would leave. The government had been pushing ahead with plans to bring BNPL products offered by firms like Klarna and Clearpay [...]
Pay growth stays at three decade high but inflation still stripping away wages July 19, 2023 Pay growth is running at its fastest pace in over three decades and has remained unchanged for the second quarter in a row, in a sign the Bank of England may have to back a bigger interest rate hike again next month. New figures out today from XpertHR reveal wages leapt six per cent in [...]
Smart Pension snaps up £750m peer as government calls for consolidation grow July 17, 2023 Top workplace pension firm Smart Pension has snapped up a peer with some £750m under management as pressure from the government grows for faster consolidation in the sector.
Bank of England interest rate hikes trigger record £2.1 trillion UK wealth collapse, report claims July 17, 2023 The Bank of England has engineered the largest contraction in UK household wealth on record by jacking up interest rates in response to scorching inflation, a new report out today has claimed. Asset values have collapsed by £2.1 trillion since early 2021, mainly driven by a sharp fall in bond prices in response to UK [...]
One Fifth Of UK Workers Are Using AI, Without Telling The Boss July 13, 2023 | Sponsored Generative AI developments are moving faster than most of us can keep up with. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) has found that public awareness of AI has increased over the past year, with 72% of adults now able to give at least a partial explanation of [...]
Mortgage rates climb to 15-year high following surprisingly strong wage growth July 11, 2023 The typical rate available on a two-year fixed mortgage has climbed to a 15-year high, surpassing the levels seen last Autumn in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget. According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate hit 6.66 per cent, marginally higher than the 6.65 per cent seen last October. This was the [...]
Government’s aid investor: Why only the private sector can lift people out of poverty July 11, 2023 In 1948, the chair of the Colonial Development Corporation Lord Reith described the newly formed state-backed body’s role as to “do good without losing money”. Since then it has been through a number of understandable rebrands and rejigs. It swapped its title for the Commonwealth Development Corporation in 1963, before winning a mandate from government [...]
Pension giants back plans for £75bn private investment bonanza July 10, 2023 The country’s top pension and insurance giants have today thrown their weight behind a package of government reform that will aim to unleash a £75bn wave of capital into Britain’s private companies.
Hillingdon Is The UK’s Newest AI-ready Borough July 6, 2023 | Sponsored Artificial intelligence is the buzzword for 2023. Since ChatGPT’s arrival in late 2022, the concept of generative AI has exploded into the public consciousness, and adoption is rocketing. The platform racked up 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after launch, which makes it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. It is [...]
New report unveils UK firms’ self-preservation tactics July 5, 2023 | Sponsored In today’s ever-evolving business environment, finance directors face vast external challenges that can impact their organisation’s financial performance – from geopolitical tensions and trade block negotiations, to soaring inflation and the residual effect of the Coronavirus pandemic. With a lot to navigate, finance teams are exploring all potential routes to help strengthen the bottom line [...]