Plymouth shooting: Killer had shotgun license returned by police weeks before attack August 14, 2021 The UK’s police watchdog has launched a probe into why the man who shot dead five people in Plymouth on Thursday had his confiscated gun and permit returned by police just weeks before the attack. Jake Davison, 22, shot his mother Maxine Davison and four members of the public – including a three-year-old girl Sophie [...]
US insurance giant Gallagher snaps up Willis reinsurance arm in $3.25bn deal August 13, 2021 US insurance giant Arthur J. Gallagher has announced it will buy the treaty reinsurance brokerage arm of Willis Towers Watson for a proposed cash consideration of $3.25bn (£2.35bn). It comes just over a fortnight after Willis agreed to terminate a $30bn (£22.9bn) merger agreement with Aon, in what would have created the world’s largest insurance [...]
DoorDash swings to loss in second quarter since IPO August 13, 2021 Aggressive expansion into a crowded global grocery delivery market plunged SoftBank-backed DoorDash into a wider than expected loss in the second quarter since its December 2020 IPO. The NYSE-listed food delivery firm reported a net loss of $102m in the second quarter, wider than the $74.6m loss Wall Street had been expecting. This translated to [...]
UK competition watchdog investigating ‘immediate’ government action on PCR test prices August 13, 2021 The UK competition regulator has said it is exploring what immediate action the government can take to quash the hugely variable prices charged by private providers of Covid PCR tests for travel, after the health secretary, MPs and the travel industry called for an intervention. In a statement published yesterday, the Competition and Markets Authority [...]
The latest British unicorn? Insurtech Marshmallow is waiting in the wings August 11, 2021 Marshmallow Financial Services is soon to announce its latest fundraising round that will bring its valuation to $1.2bn (£869m), joining the ranks of other recent UK unicorns Starling Bank, Gousto and Zego. Its latest cash injections is fuelled largely by existing investors, according to reports in Sky News citing “city insiders” with knowledge of the [...]
Pandemic stretches gender pension gap to nearly £200,000 August 11, 2021 Women’s retirement prospects and savings have been dragged down by the pandemic much more than men’s, widening the gap between their pensions pots by almost £200,000. On average, the difference between the average pensions of women and men aged over 55 widened to £184,000 in in the last year – up £26,000 on 2020, according [...]
Germany detains British man suspected of spying for Russia August 11, 2021 British police have confirmed that a 57-year-old British national has been arrested by German authorities on suspicion of his involvement in “intelligence agent activity” with Russia. It comes after German prosecutors announced that they had detained the British citizen on Tuesday in Potsdam on suspicion of spying for Russia while working at the British Embassy [...]
Investor confidence in UK real estate edges up after Freedom Day as outflows decrease August 11, 2021 In the wake of the UK’s “Freedom Day” easing of Covid restrictions, investor optimism for real estate funds gained ground in July, reflected in significantly decreased outflows compared with previous months. Investors pulled £94m from UK property funds in July – which, although still a considerable outflow, was a marked improvement on the £249m outflows [...]
Exclusive: 1.8m UK adults have become day traders during the pandemic August 11, 2021 Nearly 1.8m adults in the UK have become day traders during the pandemic, pouring into stocks and digital currencies from the comfort of their own homes with varying success, according to new research. Of those that have dipped their toes in the risky business of day trading during the pandemic, 50 per cent said they’d [...]
Robinhood acquires investor relations platform Say Technologies in $140m takeover deal August 10, 2021 Fresh from its IPO at the end of last month, Robinhood today announced to its new shareholders that it will acquire online retail investor relations platform Say Technologies in a $140m (£101m) all-cash deal. New York fintech startup Say provides a digital platfrom that aims to enable retail investors to interact with the companies where [...]