Credit card giant Newday set to buy finance platform Deko January 9, 2020 Credit card issuer Newday has reportedly agreed to purchase retail finance platform Deko in a bid to boost its tech credentials. Newday has reached a deal to acquire Deko for up to £40m, depending on the tech provider’s performance, Sky News reported. Read more: ‘Worst year on record’ for retailers in 2019 If the purchase [...]
Polar Capital assets edge up despite challenging quarter January 9, 2020 Polar Capital has reported an increase in assets under management (AUM) during the first nine months of its financial year, despite having a “challenging” third quarter. The investment manager’s AUM climbed 2.8 per cent between 1 April and 31 December to hit £14.2bn. Read more: Profit dips as Polar Capital suffers £448m outflows Polar suffered [...]
Rathbone Brothers’ inflows decline sharply despite fund growth January 9, 2020 Investment manager Rathbone Brothers has reported a sharp drop in inflows during 2019, despite strong growth in its funds under management. At the end of 2019 Rathbone had £50.4bn funds under management and administration (FUMA), 14 per cent higher than the previous year. Read more: Rathbone Brothers buy Barclays Wealth personal injury business Net inflows [...]
Vanguard prepares to enter investment advice industry in UK January 9, 2020 Britain’s financial watchdog has given US fund management giant Vanguard the go-ahead to begin providing investment advice. In a move that will ramp up competition in the UK’s crowded wealth management sector, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has granted Vanguard regulatory permission to begin providing retail investment advice. Read more: Vanguard slashes fees in escalation [...]
Banking watchdog outlines plan for single interest rate across cash savings accounts January 9, 2020 The financial watchdog has proposed an overhaul of cash savings products in the UK, a move it said would bump up interest payments to consumers by £260m a year. Under the plans by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), banks would have to set a single easy access interest rate (SEAR) across all easy access accounts. [...]
Iran plane crash: Ukraine U-turns on engine failure as cause of Boeing 737 crash January 8, 2020 Ukraine’s embassy in Iran has dropped a reference to engine failure as a cause of the Boeing 737 plane crash that killed 176 people earlier today. Iranian state media had initially reported that “technical issues” were behind the disaster after the Boeing 737-800 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran’s international airport. Read more: Iran [...]
On a roll: Greggs employees to get £7m bonus after ‘exceptional year’ January 8, 2020 Greggs has said it will give staff a special £7m bonus payment following a “phenomenal” year when the launch of its wildly popular vegan sausage roll helped bring in a higher than expected profit. In a trading update issued this morning, Greggs raised its profit forecast for the 12 months ending 28 December 2019, calling [...]
Both black boxes from crashed Ukranian plane found in Iran January 8, 2020 Both black boxes from a Ukranian airliner that crashed just outside Tehran early on Wednesday have been found, according to Iranian state television. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed earlier shortly after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport this morning, killing all 176 people on board. Read more: Iran plane crash: Three Brits [...]
Ofcom plans to ‘supercharge’ rollout of full-fibre broadband January 8, 2020 Ofcom will “supercharge” British investment in full-fibre broadband by encouraging more competition in cities and supporting BT to roll out faster speeds in rural areas. In a new five-year plan set out today, Britain’s telecoms regulator proposed the introduction of different regulatory regimes for rural and urban areas. Read more: Broadband speeds are increasing but [...]
Facebook and Ebay pledge to combat trading of fake reviews, says competition watchdog January 8, 2020 The competition watchdog has announced that Facebook and Ebay have signed agreements committing to combat the sale of fake and misleading reviews on their platforms. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns about the trade of fake and misleading reviews on tech giants’ platforms last summer, and has been pressing them to crack down [...]