Klarna becomes Europe’s most valuable fintech in $460m raise August 6, 2019 Online payments giant Klarna has scooped up another $460m in an equity funding round led by Dragoneer, which values the fintech firm at $5.5bn. Other investors included Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HMI Capital, Starling Bank investor Merian Chrysalis, Forsta AP-Fonden, IPGL, Institutional Venture Partners and several funds managed by Blackrock. Swedish-born Klarna said it will [...]
No respite for BT investors as shares sink again August 6, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. BT shares continue to fall after first quarter results do little to dispel fears over its dividend. After a torrid year for followers of Britain’s best-known stocks, first quarter results from BT Group (LSE:BT.A) have done little to ease their fears that the telecom group’s dividend is next for the chop. While last week’s figures [...]
Former Virgin Money boss snubs Bank of England for top Salesforce job August 6, 2019 Former Virgin Money chief executive Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has shunned a prospective job at the Bank of England to instead head up the British business of software giant Salesforce. The US tech firm, which is planning to inject $2.5bn (£2.05bn) into its UK business in the next five years, said Gadhia would begin the role [...]
Unconscious bias and lack of diversity is holding business back August 6, 2019 The lack of diversity in technology is not a new issue. A study by Statista showed that female employees make up between 26 percent and 43 percent of the workforce at major tech companies. However, even this does not tell the whole story, as the number of women in engineering or product-focussed jobs is even [...]
Debate: Are professional traders becoming obsolete? August 6, 2019 Debate: Are professional traders becoming obsolete? Yes – Mike Read is chief executive and co-founder of Pelican Trading. Trading as we know it is certainly becoming obsolete. Financial instruments will always be traded, but the traditional isolated trading model we know today will soon be consigned to the past. Platforms that connect individuals wanting to [...]
What Love Island can teach us about toxic office relationships August 6, 2019 Love Island has once again graced our screens this summer. Six million of us watched for eight weeks as bronzed, toned millennials took to reality TV in search of true love – not to forget a £50,000 cash prize, lucrative brand deals, and an army of followers. While it may appear indulgent to get so [...]
Calls for clearer warnings of Woodford-style fund suspension risks August 5, 2019 Investors should be given clearer warnings about the risks of investing in funds that could suspend withdrawals, industry professionals have said. Neil Woodford’s equity income fund suspended trading in June after becoming overwhelmed by withdrawals, but it has been suggested that investors may not have understood that the fund could be suspended, leaving them unable [...]
HSBC worries mount after CEO exit August 5, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. Ousting CEO John Flint after 18 months highlights the pressures on HSBC, despite robust H1 results today. As if the current geopolitical and monetary policy concerns were not bad enough, HSBC (LSE:HSBA) investors now have succession risk to worry about after the bank’s surprise decision to part company with John Flint only 18 months [...]
UK private equity investment sinks to five-year low August 5, 2019 Private equity investment in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in over five years, as continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty leaves vendors too nervous to put assets up for sale. A study of UK transactions involving private equity investors during the first half of the year showed that both deal volumes and deal [...]
Fintech darling Monzo urges 500,000 users to change PINs after security bug August 5, 2019 Digital challenger bank Monzo has urged users to change their PINs after admitting a data breach allowed members of staff to access security information. The fintech said around a fifth of customers were affected by the leak, which saw some PINs stored in encrypted log files that Monzo engineers had access to. Read more: Losses [...]
