‘Sorry saga’: Neil Woodford sacked as Equity Income Fund shut down October 15, 2019 Former star stockpicker Neil Woodford has condemned the decision to shut down his flagship Equity Income Fund (WEIF) and fire him as its manager, claiming it is not “in the long-term interests” of investors. Link Fund Solutions, which was tasked with administering WEIF’s suspension, wrote to investors this morning to tell them the fund will [...]
Booking.com owner becomes latest to abandon Facebook Libra October 14, 2019 Booking Holdings, the company behind websites including Booking.com, has become the latest firm to quit Facebook Libra, the social media giant’s embattled cryptocurrency project. Libra confirmed that Booking – which also operates sites including Opentable and Kayak – is withdrawing from the Libra Association, the stablecoin’s Swiss-based independent governing body. Read more: Facebook cryptocurrency Libra [...]
European direct lending investment on course for record year October 14, 2019 Investment by European direct – or non-bank – lenders is predicted to soar to record levels by the end of the year thanks to an increase in average loan sizes, but the number of deals struck is falling, new research has found. Direct lenders in Europe deployed €22.6bn (£20bn) in the first half of 2019, [...]
Facebook cryptocurrency Libra dealt fresh regulatory blow by G7 October 14, 2019 Facebook’s Libra digital currency project must not go ahead until the social media giant demonstrates it is safe and secure, according to a G7 report. The world’s largest economies warned that cryptocurrencies such as Libra pose a threat to the global financial system and backers must ensure the coins are not used to launder money [...]
KKR acquires majority stake in broadband provider Hyperoptic in £500m deal October 14, 2019 Global investment firm KKR has acquired a majority stake in the UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider. KKR bought the stake from funds managed by investment firm Newlight Partners and Mubadala, the UAE sovereign wealth fund. The companies have not announced the details of the deal, but it is understood to be worth £500m. Read [...]
Santander and Visa veterans join UK Finance board October 14, 2019 UK Finance has added Santander executive Susan Allen and chief executive of Visa Europe Charlotte Hogg to its board. Allen is Santander’s head of retail and business banking in the UK, and is responsible for the bank’s 15 million retail and business customers in the UK, as well as its nationwide network of branches. Read [...]
Softbank seeks control of Wework via financing package October 14, 2019 Softbank is reportedly preparing a financing package for Wework that would give it control over the cash-strapped shared office space company. The package would significantly increase the stake of Softbank, which already owns around a third of Wework, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. This would further dilute the influence of Wework co-founder [...]
Uber challenger Bolt launches XL vehicle category in London October 14, 2019 Ride-hailing app Bolt is launching a new XL category of vehicles – with space for up to six passengers – in London today, in a bid to compete with rival Uber in its biggest European market. Bolt, which launched in London in June, is hoping its expanded offering, coupled with its comparatively low prices, will [...]
Longer prison sentences given out for tax evasion October 14, 2019 Prison sentence lengths for tax evasion rose by 10 per cent on average last year as the taxman pushed for tougher punishments to dodgng payments. The average sentence for the deliberate non-payment of tax rose to two years and seven months in 2018 – an increase of two months on 2017’s figures – according to [...]
Increase in financial services jobs available as the City weathers Brexit uncertainty October 14, 2019 The number of financial services jobs available in London increased during the third quarter, alongside the number of job seekers, but political uncertainty is still casting a cloud over the capital’s job market, according to new research. Between July and September, the number of new financial services roles increased 12 per cent on the previous [...]
