Bank of England’s Andrew Hauser: Don’t expect blockchain to revolutionise finance any time soon September 20, 2016 Much heralded blockchain technology will not create a revolutionary shake up in the financial sector anytime soon, a top Bank of England official has declared. The distributed ledger technology has a way to go to become to be as revolutionary as some are predicting, according to Andrew Hauser, the executive director of banking, payments and financial resilience [...]
Middle East investment vehicle buys 23 per cent stake in UK broker September 20, 2016 A Middle Eastern investment vehicle today took a 23.1 per cent stake in broker WH Ireland. Kuwaiti European Holding Group (KEH), the vehicle of the Al-Humaidi family, this morning announced it had paid £8.45m for more than 6m shares at 140p, a 39 per cent premium on last week’s closing price. WH Ireland’s share price rocketed [...]
Four extra-curricular career boosters that will make your CV stand out from the crowd September 20, 2016 What with algorithmic bosses and a Brexit-induced hiring freeze, how do job candidates stand out from the crowd in 2016? University qualifications are a given, not a bonus, and those working in the City will likely already have a depth of relevant experience. For employers, picking has never been harder. One technique that promises at [...]
Pre-suasion: The art of always getting what you want September 20, 2016 There's a potent, yet little-recognised dimension within the practice of persuasion. It’s called pre-suasion – the process of gaining agreement on a message before it is sent. It works by first putting audience members in a frame of mind that fits with the message they’re about to hear, thereby intensifying the impact of the message [...]
Steepening the curve: The Bank of Japan may modify its bond buying scheme to ease pressure on commercial banks, insurers and pension funds September 20, 2016 In a defiant speech earlier this month, Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor Haruhiko Kuroda insisted that there is plenty of ammo left in his monetary policy clip. With a comprehensive review of the effects of monetary policy on prices and the economy promised at tomorrow’s BoJ meeting, speculation is rife about what surprises could be in [...]
As Neil Woodford criticises its attitude to funding startups, is the UK capable of producing the first trillion-dollar company? September 20, 2016 Luke Hakes, investment director at Octopus Ventures, says Yes. You have to believe the UK is capable of building the world’s first trillion-dollar company. Historically, the UK ecosystem lacked the weight of capital required to take startups to the next level, especially when compared to Silicon Valley. But that’s been changing and the UK has made [...]
Opec is like a latter-day Ratpack act: It doesn’t need new material to move the market September 20, 2016 How many stories are there in town at the moment? What are the current obsessions for traders who, now that September is here, are routinely swinging the equity market over one per cent on a daily basis? To my mind, after a seemingly endless succession of sessions in July and August without a one per cent [...]
More property funds suspended after Brexit are being reopened September 19, 2016 Henderson Global Investors has announced it will reopen the UK property fund it suspended in the aftermath of the EU referendum. Henderson was among several asset managers to suspend trading on funds during the summer. Read more: Brexodus: Retail investors took £3.5bn out of funds in referendum month Aberdeen Asset Management, Columbia Threadneedle and Canada [...]
Influential MP calls for pensions probe into sale of turkey business September 19, 2016 Frank Field, who chairs the influential Work and Pensions Select Committee, has called on the Pensions Regulator to probe the takeover of turkey producer Bernard Matthews by Ranjit Boparan. The Labour MP is concerned that the deal will see Bernard Matthews’ retirement scheme absorbed by industry-funded lifeboat, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). Read more: Turkey [...]
Neil Woodford-backed P2P lender RateSetter reports loss as it seeks sustainable future September 19, 2016 Peer-to-peer (P2P) lender RateSetter, which is backed by fund manager Neil Woodford, has reported a revenue rise of nearly 50 per cent to £18.5m in its 2015/16 accounts. The figures The company said the results, which reported a £4.9m pre-tax loss compared with a profit of £476,000 the year before, are in line with expectations set [...]
