Nearly one in five UK flights cancelled in disruptive start to 2019 June 14, 2019 Nearly seven and a half million people have been affected by flight disruptions this year, according to new data. The UK saw an average of 115 disrupted flights per day between January and April this year, as nearly one in five flights were cancelled. Read more: London Stansted is UK’s worst airport for flight delays [...]
Five fintech firms scoop combined £25m from RBS competition fund June 14, 2019 Five fintech firms have been awarded a combined £25m from an RBS competition fund designed to boost business banking competition. Codat, Fluidly, Form3, Funding Options and Swoop Finance were all given £5m in Pool D of the £775m fund, where the focus shifted to the commercialisation of fintech. Read more: Metro, Starling and Clearbank win [...]
More than five million fall victim to financial scams, Lloyds Bank warns June 14, 2019 More than five million people in the UK have fallen victim to a financial scam as fraudsters use more sophisticated techniques to dupe the public. A Lloyds Bank and YouGov survey revealed 10 per cent of adults had been scammed while a quarter said they knew someone who had conned. Read more: HMRC cracks down [...]
Businesses must ramp up no-deal Brexit plans, IoD warns June 14, 2019 Businesses have been urged to ramp up no-deal preparations over fears the Brexit extension is being “wasted” as several Tory leadership hopefuls indicate they would leave without a deal. The Institute of Directors (IOD) said more than half of the firms quizzed in its latest survey had still not made contingency plans. Read more: Boris [...]
UBS apologises after economist’s ‘Chinese pigs’ comments spark public outrage June 13, 2019 Swiss banking giant UBS has apologised after its top economist’s comments referring to “Chinese pigs” caused public outrage. The bank’s global chief economist Paul Donovan made the comments in reference to a rise in Chinese consumer prices, which has been driven by surging pork prices after an outbreak of swine fever. Read more: UBS beats [...]
Government rejects calls for stronger links between CEO and employee pay June 13, 2019 The government’s response to calls for stronger links between chief executive pay and that of other employees has been branded a “missed opportunity” by MPs. The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee had called for recent reforms to link CEO pay to the rest of the workforce to be extended and for firms to [...]
PwC fined £4.5m for ‘lack of competence’ in Redcentric audit June 13, 2019 The audit watchdog has fined PwC more than £4.5m for a “serious lack of competence” in its audit of IT services firm Redcentric. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) slammed the auditors’ failure to exercise professional scepticism following an investigation after a £20m black hole was found in Redcentric’s accounts in 2016. Read more: PwC invests [...]
London housing market rebounds slightly after Brexit delay June 13, 2019 The London housing market showed signs of bouncing back last month as sentiment rose to its highest level since April 2017, according to the latest forecasts. Negative trends in agreed sales, prices and new instructions all eased in May after the Brexit deadline was extended to October, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) latest [...]
City watchdog launches crackdown on ‘buy now pay later’ deals June 12, 2019 The City watchdog has launched a crackdown on ‘buy now pay later’ deals in a bid to save consumers up to £60m a year. The Financial Conduct Authority has announced plans to ban retailers from charging backdated interest rates on loans repaid during the offer period. Read more: Financial Conduct Authority issues warning to high [...]
Zara owner Inditex boosts sales with rapid online expansion June 12, 2019 Zara owner Inditex defied a weak retail market to boost sales at the beginning of the second quarter as its global expansion gathered pace. The world’s biggest clothing retailer bounced back from a weak start to the year, damaged by cold weather, reporting a 9.5 per cent sales jump in the period from 1 May [...]
