Eurozone economy slows as Germany weakness continues August 5, 2019 Growth in the Eurozone economy softened in July as German output fell to a six-year low and the manufacturing sector continued to struggle, a closely-watched survey has shown. Read more: German investors grow gloomier over Iran and trade tensions Yet the area’s services sector posted solid growth as employment grew and pay rose, highlighting a [...]
Quilter to sell life assurance arm for £425m as it reports operating loss August 5, 2019 Asset managers Quilter Plc has announced that it intends to offload its life assurance business to ReAssure for £425m, as it reports a £40m operating loss. The figuresQuilter reported a first-half operating loss of £40m, but said adjusted pre-tax profits rose 5 per cent to £115m. £26m of Quilter’s profits came from Quilter Life Assurance [...]
Stelios urges investors to reject Icamap’s £139m Easyhotel bid August 5, 2019 Easyhotel founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has called on shareholders to reject a £139m bid for the business, saying it fails to recognise the company’s “true value”. Real estate fund Icamap made the 95p per share bid for the hotel chain this morning alongside developer Ivanhoe Cambridge. Read more: Satellite giant Inmarsat ditches dividend ahead of [...]
Aerospace engineer Senior’s profits shrink after Boeing 737 Max grounding August 5, 2019 British engineer Senior has become the latest aerospace supplier to highlight the impact of Boeing grounding its flagship 737 Max jet, reporting a first half profit drop of more than one-sixth this morning. The FTSE 250 aerospace firm said although it had mitigated some of the damage through stronger sales in other parts of its [...]
Just Eat and Takeaway.com agree terms on £8.3bn merger August 5, 2019 Just Eat and merger partner Takeaway.com have agreed terms on a $10bn (£8.3bn) merger, valuing the former’s shares at 731p. However, that figure falls below the 736p figure shares hit at the close of London Stock Exchange trading last Friday, raising the possibility that a rival bidder could emerge. Read more: Just Eat profits plunge [...]
HSBC CEO John Flint steps down from bank after just 18 months August 5, 2019 HSBC boss John Flint has fallen victim to a top-level reshuffle at the bank despite racking up a 16 per cent rise in first half profits. The firm said this morning it needed a change at the helm to deal with a “challenging global environment”. Flint, who has been chief executive for around a year-and-a-half, [...]
Phrasee reveals how artificial intelligence will change marketing August 5, 2019 We’re all aware that artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to transform every sector of the economy, and marketing is no exception. Already, the industry is using this new technology to analyse data or give product recommendations to customers. Of course, as adoption of the technology increases, so too is anxiety over the future of jobs. [...]
How the Anglosphere philosophy will fuel the new Prime Minister’s foreign policy August 5, 2019 It is often important to look at a leader’s idols for clues as to what makes them tick. British critics of Boris Johnson, rather than dismissing him as a cut-rate Winston Churchill tribute act, would do far better looking at what it is about the great man that so impresses the current Prime Minister. The [...]
British expertise can unlock investment opportunities across the world August 5, 2019 Stood in a power plant in Lagos, Nigeria, I heard how UK aid has helped supply electricity to 300,000 people. It is powering street lights, schools, hospitals. It is critical to Nigerians receiving healthcare, an education, accessing jobs, and lifting themselves out of poverty. Last week, I travelled to Nigeria in my new role as [...]
DEBATE: Should we be worried about police use of facial recognition technology? August 5, 2019 Should we be worried about police use of facial recognition technology? Silkie Carlo, director of privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, says YES. A society where we’re watched, tracked, and identified by facial recognition cameras was once the stuff of dystopian fiction – and for good reason. In a free society, citizens [...]