Why pockets of retailers are thriving in London July 10, 2018 | City Talk The obituary of high street retail, according to the press, has been written. Physical stores are closing at a rapid rate. We don’t think this tells the whole story. The daily announcements of retailer bankruptcies points to an ever-decreasing pool of occupiers. However, we argue that the pendulum of pessimism in investment markets often swings [...]
Entrepreneurs who make lots of money aren’t all brilliant intellectuals like scholars and scientists July 10, 2018 "I could see from first glance that he was a half-wit, but then half-wits sometimes have the genius to amass a fortune.” The quote is from Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. Don’t you just love it? Astute as it is, Miller’s observation is nevertheless remarkably at odds with the current consensus, which seems to be: [...]
Pensioners in the UK shelling out over £24bn in income tax July 9, 2018 The amount pensioners in the UK pay in income tax has ballooned to over £24bn, figures out today have shown. Insurer Royal London obtained the information through freedom of information (FOI) requests to find out how much people over the state pension age were paying to the tax man in different parts of the [...]
Make cool stuff, says Jason Kingsley, founder of video game company Rebellion July 9, 2018 VIDEO games get a bad rap. The industry is still plagued by unfair stereotypes about gamers (perpetuated by awful shows like The Big Bang Theory) and sensationalist headlines in newspapers – think of the furore over the currently popular multiplayer shooter Fortnite, with parents claiming that their children are “addicted” to the game. This knee-jerk [...]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch finds buyer for $6.5bn fund platform July 8, 2018 Bank of America Merrill Lynch has found a buyer for its $6.5bn (£4.89bn) MLIS Ucits platform. Generali Investments has purchased the platform, according to a source familiar with the matter. The MLIS (Merrill Lynch Investment Solutions) platform was set up by the firm to offer "innovative and added value" strategies for investors, in order to [...]
Mastercard is in talks with UK banks to take biometric technology to the forefront of payments security July 8, 2018 Mastercard is exploring the possibility of trialling its fingerprint-scanning cards in the UK, as the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) rears its head on financial fraud. Currently under trial in South Africa, Mastercard's biometric card combines chip technology with a fingerprint scanner on the card's top right corner to verify the cardholder's identity when making [...]
Last Week in the City: Trade wars begin July 6, 2018 | City Talk Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (2 to 6 July 2018). The World Cup is “distracting” for participants in global markets, according to Citigroup. "We find that football is indeed distracting, subtly impacting market depth, traded volumes and execution cost,” the US [...]
London-based tech company Fever secures $20m Series C funding July 5, 2018 Secret London owner Fever is set to expand into new markets across Europe and North America after securing $20m (£15.1m) in a Series C fundraise. The company runs a fast-growing entertainment and experience booking app that uses a recommendation algorithm to help its 12m unique weekly users discover new restaurants, bars, events, concerts, and experiences. [...]
June’s most widely bought and sold funds on Charles Stanley Direct July 4, 2018 | City Talk Artemis Global Income remained a popular choice for exposure to high yielding global stocks among Charles Stanley Direct customers in June, while Fundsmith Equity was the most widely-purchased global equity fund, beating another regular favourite Lindsell Train Global Equity. In the Asia ex-Japan sector Invesco Perpetual Asian outstripped the perennially popularStewart Asia Pacific Leaders in [...]
Lloyds faces landmark legal action in the High Court over pensions equalisation July 4, 2018 Lloyds Bank could have to fork out up to £508m to equalise its pension scheme if a landmark course case finds it has discriminated against female employees. Three female members of Lloyds' pension scheme claim they have been discriminated against because their pensions increase at a lower rate than their male counterparts. The case, which [...]
