“Students are fans”: Metro Bank chair Vernon Hill gets an honourary professorship at Cass Business School and gives his top tips for UK students March 21, 2016 Everywhere Metro Bank's American founder Vernon Hill goes he sees fans. Hill was sworn into an honorary professorship at London's Cass Business School on Monday morning, and it's safe to say he takes the same view of students as he does of the challenger bank's customers. "Universities should definitely be thinking of their students as fans", Hill told The Capitalist [...]
BrainJuicer Group share price flat as market research company’s revenues, profits and dividend all nudged up for year ending December 2015 March 21, 2016 Share price in BrainJuicer Group was flat today after the market research company revealed a modest boost to its revenue, profit and dividend for its year ending December 2015. The company announced revenues of £25.2m, up two per cent from £24.7m the year before, while profits before tax grew to £4.5m, up five per cent from £4.3m. The [...]
Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide sign off amended merger agreement, with Starwood shareholders now standing to gain a better cash deal March 21, 2016 Hospitality giants Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide today revealed that they had signed off on an amendment to their merger agreement. The new deal revises the value of Starwood shares to $13.6bn (£9.5bn) in total, which is $79.53 per share or $85.36 per share after consideration from separate transaction involving Interval Leisure Group is taken into [...]
Fintech start-up Elliptic raises £3.5m to launch crackdown on suspicious blockchain and bitcoin transactions March 21, 2016 London and New York-based blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic has received $5m (£3.5m) in Series A funding to help crackdown on bitcoin crime, it announced today. Elliptic, which launched in 2013, uses graph analysis and machine learning to identify illicit activity in blockchain transactions. Blockchain, a decentralised ledger of transactions, is the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The funding boost [...]
Three hour train journeys from London to Scotland on track as UK and Scottish government’s agree further work March 21, 2016 Three hour train journeys from London to Scotland are set to become a reality after the UK and Scottish governments agreed on the joint aim to reduce train times. The governments agreed that there needs to be further work to bring train journeys down to three hours or less, while easing the severe congestion on cross-border [...]
Pound falls after Iain Duncan Smith quits and sparks rumours of Tory civil war March 21, 2016 The pound was hit this morning after Iain Duncan Smith dramatically quit the government on Friday. Sterling fell by almost one cent against the US dollar, hitting a low of $1.4377. It also fell against the euro, dropping 0.4 per cent to €1.2803. "A bit of internal party bickering doesn’t normally impact Sterling but this [...]
Markit and IHS in $13bn merger to create “global information powerhouse” March 21, 2016 UK based analytics and market data firm Markit has agreed to a merge with US rival IHS in an all share deal to create a $13bn heavyweight. The new company will be called IHS Markit and will be headquartered in London. IHS shareholders will own 57 per cent of the company while Markit’s will hold 43 [...]
Ladbrokes treats champion jockey Frankie Dettori to a little Mayfair glamour as he becomes the brand’s ambassador March 21, 2016 Champion jockey Frankie Dettori has been working hard in Mayfair. Earlier this month, The Capitalist joined Dettori at travel firm Palatinate's 10th anniversary lunch at Sexy Fish, but the Italian jockey was dragged from his table mid-starter by his manager to have a covert chat with Ladbrokes PR boss Mike Dillon. A week later, we spoke to the firm's bookies in Cheltenham [...]
London mayoral election 2016: Official start to campaign kicks off as poll reveals Labour’s Sadiq Khan ahead of Conservatives’ Zac Goldsmith March 21, 2016 The campaign proper for the London mayoral election kicks off today, as official nominations can be made and a host of candidates join the race. While Labour's Sadiq Khan and the Conservatives' Zac Goldsmith have engaged in fierce and tense debates since they each won their party's nomination, it is only now that official nominations that [...]
Scottish election 2016: Nicola Sturgeon accused of being arrogant by Labour’s Kezia Dugdale as new poll reveals SNP on for huge victory March 21, 2016 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of being "utterly arrogant" by the Scottish Labour leader after declaring victory in the Scottish election before the vote has been cast. Kezia Dugdale said the upcoming election was the "most interesting, exciting and important we have ever faced" and that new devolved powers meant Scottish voters would be able [...]