Coronavirus will make it harder to raise finance in the next year, say fintech founders August 18, 2020 The majority of fintech founders in the UK believe the pandemic will make it harder to raise finance in the next year. A survey by the Digital Finance Forum (DFF) found that just under half of respondents cited limited access to capital as the most pressing challenge during the pandemic. It comes as the government [...]
UK savings rates halve since coronavirus lockdown August 17, 2020 Average savings rates in the UK have fallen for the fifth consecutive month, as the impact of coronavirus and subsequent base rate cuts hit returns. Since lockdown restrictions were imposed in March, average savings rates for easy access, notice accounts and their ISA equivalents have halved. Moneyfacts’ savings report shows all average saving rates are [...]
Chris Smalling invests in UK plant-based meat business August 17, 2020 A startup that specialises in “hyper-realistic” plant-based food has secured investment from international footballer Chris Smalling in its latest funding round. THIS closed its £4m Seedrs crowdfunding campaign on Friday, which was live for 2 and a half days before hitting its £4m target. THIS aims to mimic meat in taste, texture, appearance and smell [...]
Market shock: how did investors react to the impact of Covid-19? August 17, 2020 | City Talk Coronavirus brought a decade-long US bull market to an end and sparked a sudden stock market collapse. A surprising proportion of investors responded by taking on more risk. Faced by of one of the biggest economic shocks in history it is little surprise that the vast majority of investors reacted by changing their portfolios. What [...]
Schroders becomes first major City firm to make home working permanent August 16, 2020 Fund manager Schroders will allow thousands of its employees to continue working from home even after the pandemic, marking a huge shift in the way the City works. The FTSE-100 listed firm is the first major City institution to tell staff they will not be required to return to the office five days a week. [...]
N26 staff to form works council after bank fails to break up meeting August 14, 2020 Staff at N26 have made a major breakthrough in their efforts to form a trade union after the digital bank failed to break up a meeting of employees during a dramatic day of confrontation. N26 workers today confirmed they had met and selected an electoral board, which will now begin the process of organising an [...]
Why investors should pay attention to sugar August 14, 2020 | City Talk Government action to promote healthy eating, especially in light of the spread of Covid-19, and ongoing changes in consumer tastes will continue to create headwinds for the food and beverage industry, and increasingly for food retailers and hospitality companies too. We’ve known for decades that obesity puts people at greater risk of serious and life-threatening [...]
N26 in stand-off with staff as confidence in founders hits ‘all-time low’ August 13, 2020 Meetings between N26 staff to create a so-called works council are scheduled for today and tomorrow, despite the digital bank’s best efforts to stop employees organising with a legal injunction. The founders of N26 obtained an injunction against workers trying to establish a council earlier this week, after staff wrote in an open letter that [...]
Forecasting the US election: should investors prepare for a new president? August 13, 2020 | City Talk Our analysis shows that the US presidential race may be closer than it first appears, but investors should at least be questioning what a Biden win will mean for markets and policy. When it comes to forecasting the US election, on the face of it both macro modelling and polls point to a comfortable win [...]
We cannot let workers’ rights evaporate just because we’re working from home August 13, 2020 Are we working from home, or sleeping at the office? It’s a question that captures the love-hate relationship many workers (and, indeed, employers) have with remote working. This relationship has only become more strained as the pandemic has forced thousands of us to reconfigure our homes into makeshift offices with dining tables doubling up as [...]
