Niche bank Cambridge and Counties hits record lending levels after launch of classic car loans April 2, 2019 Niche property bank Cambridge and Counties reported a profit rise and assets of more than £1bn after the successful launch of its classic car loans arm. The business-focused bank said pre-tax profit increased 14 per cent to £27.9m last year and loans and deposit levels reached record highs. Read more: Mortgage approvals fall as lending [...]
UK inflation rate highest of major advanced economies in February April 2, 2019 The UK’s annual inflation rate was the highest of the G7 countries in February, statistics released today showed, due in part to the fall in the value of the pound pushing up the cost of imported goods. Read more: Inflation edges up from two-year low as food and alcohol prices rise Britain’s inflation rate in [...]
DCMS Committee launches new body to fight fake news as pressure on tech giants builds April 2, 2019 The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee today said it has launched a dedicated division to tackle the ongoing threat of disinformation to democracy. The new sub-committee follows the DCMS Committee’s report into disinformation and fake news, which called for a new regulator to monitor tech giants such as Facebook and Google. Read more: [...]
UK risks ‘trashing relationship with Europe’ over Brexit, says Siemens boss April 2, 2019 Britain is at risk of ruining its “fabulous” relationship with Europe due to the crisis over its failure to secure a Brexit deal, the Siemens chief executive has said. Jurgen Maier, the UK boss of the German manufacturing giant, urged MPs to reach an agreement, warning of the impact on business if the UK crashes [...]
Are emerging markets really worth the risk? April 2, 2019 At a time when the US Federal Reserve has well and truly capitulated on its hiking path, some emerging markets are not showing signs of relief. Against the dollar, Argentina’s peso is close to an all-time low, the Turkish Lira is teetering near a year-to-date low, and the South African rand is creeping back to [...]
Channel 4 set to move into former nightclub building Majestic in Leeds April 2, 2019 Channel 4 is in advanced talks to move its national headquarters into the Majestic building in Leeds city centre. The broadcaster said it is in negotiations with real estate firm Rushbond to lease 25,000 square feet of office space over three floors in the former cinema and nightclub. Read more: Editor's Notes: Brexit: An Uncivil War [...]
UK construction sector shrinks for second consecutive month April 2, 2019 Britain’s construction sector contracted in March for the second month in a row, it was revealed today, as a slowing commercial market and Brexit uncertainty weighed on the sector. The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 49.7 in March compared to 49.5 in February, the first back-to-back fall in output since August 2016. A score of [...]
Ryanair traffic soars despite challenging results April 2, 2019 Ryanair’s traffic grew nine per cent year-on-year last month as passenger numbers hit 10.9m in March. Traffic is nine per cent up over all this year, as the rolling annual total is 132.1m, up from 130.3m in the year to March 2018. Read more: O'Leary hopes to 'reboot' Ryanair reputation by taking a step back [...]
Aviva and Sesame Bankhall invest £5m in new blockchain mortgage platform April 2, 2019 A new fintech mortgage platform has secured £5m seed funding from Aviva and Sesame Bankhall in a bid to transform the market. Acre – a next-generation mortgage and insurance platform – has announced £5m seed funding from insurance giant Aviva and financial advisor Sesame Bankhall Group (SBG). Read more: Monzo backer Accel stumps up $30m for Chainalysis' [...]
Ghosn requests separate trial from Nissan as inquiries heat up April 2, 2019 Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn will not get a fair trial unless he is tried separately from the car manufacturer, his lawyer has said. “No matter how you look at it, having Ghosn sit alongside Nissan at the trial would be peculiar, it would go against his right to a fair trial,” Junichiro Hironaka told [...]