‘Mule’ regret it: Cash-strapped Brits warned to avoid ‘easy money’ adverts September 23, 2021 Cash-strapped students and other people are being warned to watch out for money mule recruiters – as nearly a third say financial concerns would make them more likely to consider offers to make “easy money” – even if they appear suspect. Almost three in 10 students would even risk allowing someone else to use their [...]
Brexit-proof: City’s share of European investment management market larger than Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich combined September 23, 2021 The City of London’s share of the European investment management market is larger than the combined total of Paris, Frankfurt or Zurich. It is by far the largest investment management hub in Europe with a market share of 37 per cent, according to new data shared with City A.M. today. The City of London and [...]
Card payments made up four in every five pounds spent last year September 22, 2021 Debit or credit cards accounted for more than four in every five pounds spent in 2020, as the pandemic sped up cashless spending. Cashless payments made up 81 per cent of spending last year, a slight increase from 78 per cent in 2019, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In its annual payments survey, [...]
State pension scandal: Human errors led to £1bn in underpayments for 134,000 Brits September 22, 2021 Repeated human errors led to more than £1bn-worth of state pensions being underpaid, the UK spending watchdog said this morning. Around 134,000 pensioners were underpaid, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said, adding it plans to pay an average of £8,900 to people affected, the National Audit Office (NAO) said. Most of those affected [...]
‘Quality losses’ matter more to investors than ‘quality gains’ September 21, 2021 | City Talk People dislike losses more than they like gains. Known as loss aversion, this phenomenon, or behavioural bias, serves as a cornerstone of prospect theory, developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky more than 40 years ago. A forthcoming paper, which I co-authored with Didem Kurt, Koen Pauwels and Shuba Srinivasan, applies this theory to product [...]
Government borrowing in August hit £20.5bn September 21, 2021 Government borrowing stood at £20.5bn in August, down from £26bn the previous year, according to official data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said last month’s figure was the second highest August borrowing since records began in 1993. The data shows borrowing so far this financial year has reached £93.8bn since the end of March [...]
Recognise Bank given green light to become UK’s newest bank September 20, 2021 Recognise Bank is to become the country’s newest bank after being granted a banking license. Deposit restrictions on the digitally led bank have been lifted by the Prudential Regulation Authority, according to Recognise parent company City of London group (COLG) The bank will launch its personal and business savings products and start taking deposits with [...]
DWP apologises after delays in pension payments September 18, 2021 Thousands of pensioners have not yet been paid their state pension because of government backlogs. People who have just turned 66 have not been paid on time after backlogs in processing applications at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Officials have apologised and said the delays were a result of the pandemic and staffing [...]
Evergrande executives redeemed investment products in advance September 18, 2021 Six executives of China’s beleaguered real estate giant Evergrande redeemed some of the company’s investment products in advance earlier this year. The executives made early redemptions of 12 investment products, between May 1 and September 7, the property group said in a statement on Saturday. The statement on the group’s website did not identify the [...]
Tax-free savings accounts set to lose thousands as inflation keeps climbing September 17, 2021 The rise in inflation means cash ISAs are set to lose thousands in real terms over the next five years. The average interest rate on a cash ISA rate is currently 0.31 per cent, per the Bank of England on 31 July, while the rate of inflation is now 3.2 per cent. At these rates, [...]