FCA goes to court over coronavirus business interruption insurance May 1, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking legal clarity on the inability of some insurance customers to obtain compensation for disruption amid the coronavirus crisis. Businesses were forced to close their doors and furlough staff after the lockdown measures were introduced in March. The vast majority of businesses did not purchase business interruption insurance and [...]
Ladbrokes owner GVC’s board takes 20 per cent voluntary pay cut May 1, 2020 Ladbrokes owner GVC has announced its board will take a voluntary pay cut of 20 per cent amid the coronavirus crisis. Last month the bookmaker said the board’s remuneration committee would consider the impact of coronavirus on GVC’s performance and review the remuneration policy. Today GVC announced the board of directors and members of the [...]
St James’s Place trims dividend as first-quarter AUM falls April 30, 2020 St James’s Place has withheld a third of its planned dividend after assets under management fell amid the sustained market volatility. The wealth manager said it was “not immune to how the unprecedented level of uncertainty may impact the operating environment”. Read more: St James’s Place posts five per cent profit fall as inflows slow [...]
NMC Health founder claims he is a victim of ‘serious fraud’ April 30, 2020 The founder of beleaguered hospital operator NMC Health has dismissed allegations and claimed he is a victim of “serious fraud”. In a rare public statement, BR Shetty said internal investigations had shown that “serious fraud and wrongdoing appears to have taken place at NMC, Finablr, as well as within some of my private companies, and [...]
SoftBank warns of steeper losses as it takes hit on WeWork April 30, 2020 SoftBank has warned of further losses on investments outside its Vision Fund, piling pressure on founder Masayoshi Son’s bet on the struggling WeWork. The Japanese company widened its forecast for a net loss in the year ended in March from 750bn to 900m yen (£6.7bn). SoftBank said it expects to lose 700bn yen on a [...]
Interactive Investor revenue jumps 61 per cent as it doubles number of customers April 30, 2020 Interactive Investor has doubled the number of new customers in the first-quarter, pushing net revenue up 61 per cent. The online investment platform reported net revenue of £31.1m for the first-quarter, up from £19.3m in the same period last year. Profit before tax grew 55 per cent from £5.8m to £9m. The strong figures are [...]
FTSE 100 jumps as Gilead reports positive data on coronavirus drug trial April 29, 2020 The FTSE 100 closed at its highest in seven weeks after drugmaker Gilead reported positive results from its trials for a coronavirus drug. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 2.13 per cent higher to finish at 6,085 points, the first time it has surpassed the 6,000 mark since 11 March. Read more: FTSE 100 jumps [...]
Crypto data provider Skew launches trading platform as it raises $5m April 29, 2020 Skew, a data analytics platform for crypto, has today launched a trading platform after a $5m funding round led by Octopus Ventures. Skew Trading is a partnership with Kyte Broking focused on attracting institutional traders entering the crypto world. Skew is initially focusing on OTC execution of Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) block trades for bitcoin [...]
TCI calls on Wirecard to remove chief executive Markus Braun April 29, 2020 The Children’s Investment fund has called on Wirecard’s supervisory board to remove chief executive Markus Braun after a KPMG audit was unable to verify its revenue. It piles further pressure on Wirecard chairman Thomas Eichelmann after KPMG said was unable to obtain all the information it requested from the firm, such as bank statements. In [...]
Standard Chartered eyes recovery in China as profits tumble 12 per cent April 29, 2020 The coronavirus crisis has pushed Standard Chartered’s pre-tax profits down 12 per cent, but the lender is eyeing signs of recovery in China. However, the lender pointed to “encouraging early signs” of recovery in China. Investors welcomed the optimism with Standard Chartered’s London-listed shares up 3.6 per cent. “We expect a gradual recovery from the [...]
