Dozens of UK’s biggest investment houses fall short of new ESG standard September 6, 2021 Some of the UK’s biggest names in investment have failed to meet a new ESG standard for investing for savers and pensioners, including Schroders, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild. In a new list published by The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today, asset managers, pension schemes and insurers who successfully met a revised UK stewardship code were [...]
London pollution: The worse the air you breathe, the worse your Covid symptoms September 4, 2021 Exposure to air pollution increases the risk of more severe coronavirus symptoms and hospitalisation with the disease, according to a new report by Imperial College London researchers. In a review of the latest evidence available, the researchers found a strong link between a person’s exposure to air pollution before the pandemic and the worst cases [...]
Out with the old, in with the Issas: Asda execs quit as supermarket plots 230 petrol station stores September 3, 2021 In the first full quarter trading update since billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa bought Asda for £6.8bn last year, the supermarket chain announced two more top executives were leaving, as it ramps up its petrol convenience store business. The UK’s third-largest supermarket today announced that both chief operating officer Anthony Hemmerdinger and chief strategy [...]
Banksy’s shredded artwork is back under the hammer – for up to six times the price September 3, 2021 Banksy’s “Love is in the Bin”, formerly Girl With Balloon before it partially self-destructed at the moment of sale in 2018, is back up for auction at Sotheby’s in October – and it could be worth up to six times more in its semi-shredded state. The painting of a young girl holding a red heart-shaped [...]
Apple pushes back on controversial child protection features after privacy objections September 3, 2021 Apple will delay the release of its controversial new child protection features in order to collect more feedback and make improvements, after a feature that would scan customers’ phones and computers for child sex abuse images sparked widespread criticism for breaching user privacy. Over 90 policy and rights group worldwide, as well as Apple’s own [...]
UK PE firm Cinven resigns from $2bn Sanne takeover bidding war September 3, 2021 London private equity firm Cinven has bowed out of a $2bn-odd bidding war with US fund servicer Apex Group to buy fellow London-based FTSE 250 asset manager Sanne Group. Cinven said it would not make another offer for Sanne, after it made a series of bids over the summer that were ultimately trumped by US [...]
One in ten UK buy now pay later shoppers pursued by debt collectors September 3, 2021 One in ten UK shoppers who choose to pay for products using buy now pay later have been chased by debt collectors, amid exploding demand for the services since the onset of the pandemic. The proportion of buy now pay later (BNPL) shoppers that have received contact from or been referred to debt collectors rises [...]
Reddit seeks advisers for $15bn plus New York IPO September 2, 2021 Online message board operator Reddit is reportedly seeking to hire lawyers and investment bankers as advisers for a US IPO that could see it valued at more than $15bn. Reddit, the self-styled “front page of the internet”, was in the spotlight earlier this year when day traders on its forum sparked a huge rally in [...]
UBS chief: Staff who choose not to get vaccine can work from home rather than office September 2, 2021 UBS employees who don’t want to receive the Covid vaccine can apply to work from home instead, the Swiss bank’s CEO Ralph Hamers announced today, indicating a more flexible approach than some banking rivals. Some banks, including Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, have mandated vaccines for staff returning to their desks in some [...]
China to launch new Beijing stock exchange to boost small businesses September 2, 2021 China will create a new stock exchange in Beijing, in a bid to foster small business development and boost the country’s equity financing. In an announcement at an international trade fair, president Xi Jinping said the new Beijing exchange would “provide a platform for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.” Giving no date or further details [...]