France fines Google €150m over anti-competitive behaviour December 20, 2019 France’s competition authority has fined Google €150m (£123m) for anti-competitive behaviour and mistreating advertisers who bought keyword adverts on its search engine. The search engine giant was accused of “brutal and unjustified” suspension of some advertisers by French authorities, which accused Google of abusing its dominance in the sector. Read more: Amazon, Apple and Google [...]
Beware the annual workplace Christmas click-off December 20, 2019 The closer we get to the holidays each year, the more festive — and less productive — we feel at work. It’s a feeling that gets to even the most dedicated of employees. With tinsel adorning hallways and mince pies appearing on every desk, excitement begins to bubble and motivation begins to wane. Staff leave [...]
Regulator’s report stalls new Heathrow runway December 20, 2019 Heathrow’s new runway will be delayed by over a year after a report by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) restricted early spending on the expansion. The project is now expected to be completed between 2028 and late 2029, a setback of more than a year. Read more: Boris Johnson raises red flag in election over [...]
Aberdeen Standard Investments to take control of Woodford Income Focus fund December 20, 2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) will take over Neil Woodford’s sole remaining fund it has been revealed today. Fund administrator Link Fund Solutions confirmed to investors this morning that the management of the £267m fund would be handed to ASI. Read more: Windup date for flagship Neil Woodford fund confirmed by administrators The management of the [...]
Brexit bill: MPs to vote on Boris Johnson’s deal in second reading December 20, 2019 MPs will today vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill just more than a month before 31 January deadline. The withdrawal bill was first introduced to the House of Commons in October and will have its second reading today. Read more: CBI welcomes Prime Minister’s Brexit trade deal deadline MPs will have a chance to debate [...]
Insurer LV shifts focus to pension provision with new boss December 20, 2019 Pension provider LV has today announced a new chief executive as it shifts its focus away from insurance to savings and retirement. Mark Hartigan will move to the company from Zurich Insurance group. Current CEO Richard Downey this year lead the sale of LV’s general insurance division to Allianz and will step down at the [...]
Here’s to another 10 years of City success December 20, 2019 It has been a decade of great upheaval for the City. January 2010 saw the UK economy just starting to come out of recession, with unemployment at its highest in 15 years, and a raft of regulations and inquiries into the financial services sector imminent, not to mention an election that would mark the start [...]
DEBATE: Will we see as much seismic political change in 2020 as we did this year? December 20, 2019 Will we see as much seismic political change in 2020 as we did this year? Nicholas Mazzei, a corporate social responsibility adviser, says YES. Despite the vast amount of news we’ve consumed on Brexit and British politics since the EU referendum, very little has actually happened policy-wise. Do not expect more of this in 2020. [...]
What does the next decade have in store for UK fintech? December 20, 2019 A decade ago, the term “fintech” had barely been coined, and the financial services world referred to more staid terms like “financial technology”. High-growth startups focusing on the space were few and far between, and very few VCs had fintech on their investment radar. In parallel, the ecosystem was slowly being introduced to innovative startups [...]
All Londoners want for Christmas is some kind of public transport December 20, 2019 This week, newspapers are reporting how the great Christmas get-away is about to begin — or better still, that the fabled seasonal shut-down is about to commence. For many readers, the break can probably not come soon enough. For sure, it has been a year of ups and downs for London and the South East’s [...]