Motor insurer Sabre unveils special dividend in first annual results since listing March 28, 2019 Specialist motor insurer Sabre declared a special dividend today in its first full-year results since listing on the London Stock Exchange. The insurer wrote £210m of premiums last year, a slight drop on the previous year which it said was a result of focusing on underwriting profitability over growth. Read more: Private equity firm BC [...]
Best 5 US stocks for an ISA March 28, 2019 | City Talk By Rodney Hobson from interactive investor. Brexit makes investing overseas especially attractive now, argues our commentator, author and columnist. Rodney Hobson is an experienced financial writer and commentator who has held senior editorial positions on publications and websites in the UK and Asia, including Business News Editor on The Times and Editor of Shares magazine. [...]
Lloyd’s of London loses £1bn in year of natural catastrophes as it grapples with harassment scandal March 27, 2019 Insurance market Lloyd’s of London, currently embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal, said today it had made a loss of £1bn for 2018. Lloyd’s said it paid £19.7bn in claims last year, leading to an aggregate loss of £1bn, down from £2bn the year previously. The exchange had gross written premiums of £35.5bn last year, [...]
Just Group completes £375m fundraising to meet new regulations March 25, 2019 Retirement services firm Just Group shares fell again this morning as it announced it had completed a £375m fundraise to comply with new capital requirement rules. The firm, which unveiled heavy 2018 pre-tax losses earlier this month, said it had issued £300m worth of bonds and raised an extra £75m via an equity placing. Read [...]
iSmash on rivalling Apple for tech repairs and launching more stores in a dying high street March 25, 2019 Many will be familiar with the trauma: you drop your smartphone and the screen shatters into a modern-day mosaic. You either learn to live with shards of glass jabbing your fingers, wait a week for a phone company to fix it, or pay for a bodge job at a corner shop. Except those are no longer [...]
Lloyd’s of London plans clamp down on harassment and bullying March 24, 2019 Lloyd’s of London plans to overhaul workplace culture following reports of sexual harassment and bullying at the 330-year-old insurance market. The company intends to call an emergency meeting with senior staff members to set out ways to make it easier for employees to make formal complaints, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Lloyd's of London [...]
Simplybiz acquires financial adviser platform Defaqto for £74m March 20, 2019 Simplybiz has acquired financial adviser fintech firm Defaqto for £74.3m. Shares in AIM-listed Simplybiz, a compliance and business services provider, rose more than four per cent on the news. Read more: Business software M&A hits five-year high The combination will create a single fintech and support services group, and the acquisition is expected to enhance earnings during the first [...]
Gold, the Federal Reserve, and the dollar – what’s driving up precious metal prices? March 19, 2019 Gold has been making a comeback. After a long period with little activity last year, the precious metal’s value has risen as stock markets have struggled and fallen. Combine the volatility of equities with the increase in geopolitical fears, and many investors are re-evaluating whether to increase the amount of gold in their portfolios. The [...]
Just Group leads FTSE fallers after revealing £400m fundraising plans March 14, 2019 Retirement services firm Just Group has seen shares fall 11 per cent today after revealing plans to raise almost £400m to comply with new capital requirement rules as it unveiled a heavy loss before tax in 2018. The firm said it plans a debt offering of £300m and will raise a further £80m from an equity [...]
Should the rich be taxed more? March 8, 2019 | City Talk Compared with other developed countries, the UK has a very high level of income inequality, something which many of us feel uncomfortable about. According to the Equality Trust, UK households in the bottom 10 per cent of the population have, on average, a disposable (or net) income of £9,644, with the top 10 per cent [...]