TSB needs three-year turnaround before potential sale, Sabadell says March 27, 2019 Challenger bank TSB could be sold but must undergo a turnaround and cut costs first, its Spanish owner Banco Sabadell has said. Sabadell chairman Josep Oliu said TSB needed three years to get back on track but that a merger or a sale were options. Read more: TSB falls to £105m loss after IT disaster [...]
Preparing for a black swan event in the financial markets March 27, 2019 Global markets are more complex and interconnected than ever. Since the 2008 financial crisis, it’s become increasingly difficult to predict how the behaviour of market participants will affect the broader financial system. Meanwhile, increased automation and the use of high-frequency trading have contributed to flash crashes. We struggle to manage the rapid market movements that [...]
Saudi Aramco signs $70bn deal to buy majority stake in petrochemicals firm Sabic March 27, 2019 Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement to buy a 70 per cent stake in petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) for $70bn (£53bn), the company said today. The state oil firm has secured the purchase from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), for an agreed price of 123.40 riyals per [...]
Theresa May vows to resign before further negotiations if her Brexit deal is passed March 27, 2019 Theresa May will quit as Prime Minister before the next stage of Brexit negotiations she told her party tonight in a last bid attempt to get MPs to back her deal. Speaking to Conservative MPs in a packed meeting in parliament, May said she was aware her party wanted “new leadership” for any trade negotiations [...]
Brands, don’t let your employees’ bad social media posts harm your reputation March 27, 2019 One of the many lessons of 2018 was how easily a worker’s social media activity can damage a brand’s reputation. I don’t just mean the deliberate attacks made by angry ex-employees, but the accidental disasters caused by well-meaning contributions to the marketing effort. HSBC experienced this in October, when Business Insider published a piece about [...]
Footwear chain Dune tables offer to save struggling retailer LK Bennett March 27, 2019 Footwear chain the Dune Group has tabled an offer for LK Bennett as the struggling fashion retailer’s administrators prepare to select a buyer. Dune, which operates 40 standalone stores and 175 concessions in the UK, was one of a handful of potential buyers to submit final bids earlier this week, Sky News reported. Read more: [...]
TfL leak reveals plans for the world’s longest and tallest bridge across the Thames March 27, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) wants its proposed Canary Wharf Thames crossing to be the tallest and longest vertical lifting bridge in the world. TfL's planned bridge is a 90m tall and 180m-wide vertical lift bridge that will connect Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf across the River Thames. The bridge will be fitted with concrete towers that will be 90m [...]
Digital wealth manager Nutmeg targets ‘seven figure sum’ in crowdfunding round March 27, 2019 Digital wealth manager Nutmeg has announced it will launch a crowdfunding round this year, targeting a seven figure sum. Nutmeg, which counts Goldman Sachs, Taipei Fubon Bank, Convoy and Balderton Capital among existing investors, is opening up company ownership to its customers in partnership with equity funding platform Crowdcube. Read more: £350 for your thoughts: [...]
Elon Musk uses Twitter wisely, new Tesla chair says March 27, 2019 The new chair of Tesla said that its chief executive Elon Musk uses Twitter “wisely”, in an interview today. “Twitter is part of everyday business for many executives today,” Robyn Denholm told Bloomberg, “From my perspective, he uses it wisely.” Musk faced heat from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after tweeting in August [...]
John Bercow blocks attempt to get round his Meaningful Vote ruling March 27, 2019 John Bercow has given Theresa May another headache after he blocked any attempt to use parliamentary procedures to get round his ruling that the government cannot bring an unchanged Brexit deal back before MPs. The Commons speaker ruled last week that he would only allow a third meaningful vote on May’s withdrawal plan if it [...]