US says it may reassess intel sharing with allies that use Huawei tech in their 5G systems April 29, 2019 The US government will reassess sharing information with allies that use equipment made by Chinese tech firm Huawei in their 5G networks, a US official said today. “It is the United States’ position that putting Huawei or any other untrustworthy vendor in any part of the 5G telecommunications network is a risk,” said Robert Strayer, [...]
Metro Bank investors urged to block re-election of chairman and founder Vernon Hill over payments to his wife’s firm April 29, 2019 Metro Bank shareholders have been urged to vote against the re-election of chairman and founder Vernon Hill as the lender battles the aftermath of a loans blunder. Shareholder advisory group Glass Lewis raised concerns over payments made by the bank to Hill’s wife’s architecture firm InterArch, which has a contract for the design of its [...]
A new book about austerity has put Keynesian economists on the defensive April 29, 2019 Notoriously, economists quarrel about almost everything in their subject. But since the publication of John Maynard Keynes’ General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money in 1936, they are supposed to agree on one point: that increases in government spending boost demand and output, and reductions in government spending depress them. Indeed, according to the theory, a [...]
Can Just Eat deliver the City what it wants? April 29, 2019 On Wednesday morning most eyes in the City will be on Mike Coupe, the Sainsbury’s chief executive battling to keep his job. In the firm’s Holborn HQ the grocery veteran will set out his Plan B after the UK competition watchdog crushed his dreams of a merger with Asda. Read more: Shortsellers increase bets against [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell was paid £140,000 by S4 Capital in 2018 April 29, 2019 The executive chairman of S4 Capital – Sir Martin Sorrell – was paid £140,000 in 2018, a fraction of the £13.9m he was paid by WPP in 2017 before his shock exit. An annual report from Sorrell’s new company shows he received £61,000 in salary, £61,000 in bonus and £18,000 in pension payments from his [...]
UK fintech sector must not rest on its laurels and should strive to challenge China, LSE boss says April 29, 2019 The UK must not “sit on its laurels” and should have ambitions to challenge China, the London Stock Exchange chief executive told a global fintech summit this afternoon. Nikhil Rathi championed the City as a top fintech hub globally but said the UK environment needed to improve to develop skills and people and encourage innovation. [...]
In 50 years, dead users will outnumber the living on Facebook April 29, 2019 At least 1.4bn Facebook users will die before 2100, meaning the number of dead people on the platform could outnumber the living by 2070, according to a new study. If membership of the platform continues growing at the current rate of 13 per cent each year, then there could be as many as 4.9bn dead [...]
Deutsche Boerse chairman Joachim Faber to step down next year April 29, 2019 Deutsche Boerse chairman Joachim Faber is to step down following the stock market group’s annual general meeting in 2020, it announced today. Read more: Deutsche Boerse profits plunge and outlook for 2019 'more subdued' The news comes two years after the Frankfurt-based group failed to merge with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and only months [...]
Private equity firm Inflexion raises £1bn in two buyout funds April 29, 2019 Private equity firm Inflexion, which owns retailer Mountain Warehouse and previously backed clothing brand Jack Wills, has raised £1bn from US investors attracted to the UK by the Brexit related slide in sterling. The two funds, which are expected to be officially announced this week, will target small and mid-sized deals and co-investment opportunities with [...]
Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and Interserve among firms kicked off government’s anti-late payment scheme April 29, 2019 The public sector’s war on late payment intensified today as 17 big hitters in British business were kicked off a voluntary scheme intended to crack down on the problem, including several blue-chip firms. Read more: Number of firms paid late by Cabinet Office nearly triples since 2016 Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and BHP Billiton were among the [...]