Should you invest in P2P lending through your ISA? February 8, 2021 Cash and stocks and shares aren’t the only choices when it comes to using your ISA allowance. You can also back British business and individuals through peer-to-peer lending using an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). An IFISA lets investors earn interest from peer-to-peer loans tax-free. You can use part of your £20,000 ISA allowance but can [...]
What are VCTs and EIS? A quick guide February 8, 2021 For investors willing to take a chance on smaller and less well-established companies, venture capital trusts (VCTs) and enterprise investment schemes (EIS) offer the opportunity to support up-and-coming businesses. EIS and VCTs can complement other long-term investments like ISAs and pensions, and can be used as an overspill for extra cash once those annual allowances [...]
GameStop and the ethics of short sellers February 5, 2021 | City Talk The global media has recently been entranced by a battle between retail traders and hedge funds over the US computer game store, GameStop. It has also shone a light on a practice that makes many people feel uneasy: “short selling”. So much so that lots of members of the Reddit community which spearheaded the attack [...]
GIP joins forces with Blackstone and Cascade in $4.7bn Signature Aviation bid February 5, 2021 The former owner of Gatwick Airport has teamed up with Blackstone and Cascade to bid for private jet firm Signature Aviation. The offer values the London-based aviation company at $4.7bn, the parties said on Friday. It emerged that Signature was up for sale in December, prompting a bidding war between several investors. Commenting on the [...]
Year of the unicorn: 24 companies have surpassed $1bn valuation this year already February 5, 2021 There has been somewhat of a stampede of companies reaching unicorn status since the start of the year following a strong year for the tech sector. Some 24 companies have already reached $1bn valuation since the start of the year with a particularly strong showing from e-commerce and fintech companies, according to research by Tipalti. [...]
Permanent staff recruitment falls sharply in January February 5, 2021 The latest national lockdown led to permanent staff hires plummeting in January, according to a UK jobs report. Research conducted by KPMG and REC shows the reduction was driven by the return of tough coronavirus measures and greater economic uncertainty. The resurgence of Covid-19 also caused growth in short-term vacancies to weaken in most sectors. [...]
Calls to ‘send Philip Green the bill,’ as pension lifeboat fund begins Topshop assessment February 4, 2021 There have been fresh calls for the government to step in and demand retail tycoon Philip Green to plug Arcadia’s pension deficit, as the pensions lifeboat fund begins assessing the scheme. Earlier this week online retailer Asos said it had bought Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands from Arcadia, which fell into administration in [...]
An optimistic outlook for global markets February 3, 2021 | Sponsored Alex Crooke, Fund Manager for The Bankers Investment Trust, discusses recent performance of the Trust and highlights which stocks in particular are driving this performance. Alex also looks at the year ahead and explains why he is largely optimistic on the outlook for global markets and highlights which regions and sectors he and his team [...]
When will the fun and GameStop? February 3, 2021 | City Talk Retail and day traders dealing in shares and other assets that Wall Street funds bet against may not be new; Wallstreetbets, the Reddit group at the centre of the story, itself has been in existence since 2012. However, with retail investors buying in such numbers as recently, the group has captured worldwide attention. Perhaps the [...]
Regulator grants challenger lender Cashplus a full banking licence February 3, 2021 Digital challenger bank Cashplus has become the latest London-based fintech to secure a full UK banking licence. Following the Prudential Regulation Authority’s approval, Cashplus is the UK’s newest licensed bank despite being founded in 2005 and serving more than 1.6m small business customers. Like its digital peers, Cashplus offers current accounts for UK SMEs, currently [...]
