Marks and Spencer’s former finance chief to join Belron January 8, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s ex-finance chief will make a swift return to the corporate world, only eight days after leaving the British retail stalwart. Humphrey Singer, who worked for Marks &Spencer’s for less than two years, will become the new chief financial officer at Belron, a vehicle glass repair firm. Read more: Ocado joint venture with [...]
Putin and Erdogan launch Turkstream oil pipeline January 8, 2020 Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan today opened the Turkstream oil pipeline in Istanbul. The 930km pipeline, which crosses the Black Sea, will carry oil to southern Europe in a move that will allow Russia to reduce its shipments via Ukraine. Read more: Russian pipeline Nordstream 2 gets final approval In [...]
Donald Trump says US will impose additional sanctions on Iran January 8, 2020 US president Donald Trump has said that the US will “immediately impose punishing additional sanctions” on Iran after the Islamic Republic fired missiles at two US bases in Iraq. The president said that no Americans were harmed in last night’s attacks, and that the US would continue to assess its options in response. Read more: [...]
Nearly a third of investment managers not considering ESG factors January 8, 2020 Nearly a third of investment managers are not committed to systematically considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors as part of their investment process across all asset classes. According to pensions advisory firm LCP’s annual Responsible Investment survey, 30 per cent of managers are still failing in terms of such considerations. Read more: Five sustainable [...]
Fitness startup Classpass becomes a unicorn with $285m funding round January 8, 2020 Fitness startup Classpass today announced the close of a $285m funding round, pushing its total value past $1bn. The round, which was led by L Catterton and Apax Digital, means that the American company has joined the ranks of the so-called unicorns, startups which have raised more than $1bn in funding. Read more: Puregym expands [...]
South American tribe tries to block £240m Amerisur takeover January 7, 2020 A London law firm is acting on behalf of a Colombian tribe in an attempt to block the takeover of Amerisur Resources by a larger energy firm. Leigh Day, which is representing members of a tribe who live by Colombia’s Putumayo river, has tried to secure an injunction against Geopark’s £240m acquisition of Amerisur, which [...]
Beijing appoints new envoy to Hong Kong as frustration grows over protests January 7, 2020 China has appointed a new envoy to Hong Kong in a sign of Beijing’s growing frustration at the ongoing protests in the financial hub. Luo Huining, a previous governor of Qinghai province, has replaced the previous head of the liaison office, the Chinese government’s most important office in the special administrative region. Read more: Hong [...]
UBS to cut 500 jobs as firm begins wealth unit revamp January 7, 2020 UBS will cut up to 500 jobs at its wealth management business as division co-head Iqbal Khan looks to tackle flagging profit at the bank. The cuts, which amount to roughly two per cent of the division’s workforce, will get rid of three layers of management and split the firm’s Europe, Middle East and Africa [...]
Premier Oil creditor ‘will take all steps to oppose’ refinancing plan January 7, 2020 North Sea explorer Premier Oil’s largest creditor, hedge fund Asia Research and Capital Management (ARCM), has said it will fight the oil company’s plans to extend its debt maturity and pursue several acquisitions. The fund, which holds more than 15 per cent of Premier’s debt instruments, issued a statement after the FTSE 250 firm said [...]
Middle East tensions to raise fuel prices for UK drivers January 7, 2020 Ongoing tensions in the Middle East will have an impact on UK drivers, with fuel prices set to rise at least 2p a litre in the next two weeks, according to the RAC. Simon Williams, the RAC’s fuel spokesman, said that dispute between the US and Iran “will cause the oil price to go up [...]
