Cost of Ukraine crisis akin to ‘mid-sized natural catastrophe,’ Axa finance chief says May 9, 2022 French insurance giant Axa has said it expects the costs it will incur the Ukraine crisis will be similar to the financial hit posed by a “mid-sized natural catastrophe”. Speaking to reporters, Axa chief financial officer Alban de Mailly Nesle said: “We currently expect the net underwriting losses from the crisis to be akin to [...]
Law firms face moral dilemma over Russia exit as Ukraine crisis reveals widening split May 9, 2022 Following Vladimir Putin’s decision to send Russian troops into Ukraine on 24 February 2022, major companies from across the globe began cutting their links to Russia. As multinationals from across Western world, including McDonald’s and Coca Cola, piled out of Russia, a number of high-profile law firms also sought to distance themselves from the country, [...]
UK watchdog blacklists five pensions advisors after high-risk scheme lost £50m May 9, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has blacklisted five pensions advisors and fined them more than £1m after their advice saw customers lose a combined sum of more than £50m. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned and fined the five men after they convinced more than 2,000 customers to put their pensions in high-risk funds, which [...]
Litigation funders seek to bankroll intellectual property disputes against big tech firms, new research shows May 9, 2022 Eight of the UK’s ten biggest litigation funders are now seeking to bankroll intellectual property (IP) disputes, according to new research from IP specialists Mathys & Squire. Litigation funders, whose business sees them finance lawsuits with a view to taking a cut of any winnings, are increasingly looking at IP disputes as a means of [...]
Exclusive: Six-in-ten UK small businesses forced to borrow to pay insurance premiums, new figures show May 9, 2022 Almost six out of ten (59 per cent) UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are relying on credit to pay their insurance costs, due to rising premiums and lower incomes linked to the impacts of Covid-19. On average, UK SMEs have borrowed £1,105 to pay for insurance costs, while nearly one in ten have borrowed [...]
Lack of properties in London’s poshest postcodes sees rental prices soar May 9, 2022 The cost of renting a property located in one of London’s most prestigious postcodes has jumped 28.3 per cent over the previous year, due to a shortage of rental properties and booming demand. There are now 50 per cent fewer rental properties hitting the market than before the pandemic, new figures from LonRes show. The [...]
Ex-Magic Circle lawyer who injected food with blood found not guilty by reason of insanity May 8, 2022 A London lawyer, who caused £500,000 worth of damage by injecting his own blood into food in supermarkets, has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. Leoaai Elghareeb, 37, was found not guilty, after he entered three supermarkets – Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Express, and Little Waitrose – on Fulham Palace Road carrying a bucketful [...]
US bans accountants and consultants from working with Russia May 8, 2022 The US government has told American citizens they are now banned from providing professional services to anyone in Russia, as part of new sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine. The White House said today that all US persons are now banned from providing accounting, trust and corporate formation, and management consulting services to [...]
City law firm to investigate senior staff over claims lawyers mistreated waitress May 8, 2022 A TOP CITY law firm has launched an investigation after a Cardiff restaurant owner accused its senior lawyers of acting inappropriately during a leadership dinner. The investigation comes after Lee Skeet, the owner of Cardiff restaurant Cora, said a waitress at his restaurant was “talked down to” and “disrespected” by senior lawyers from London-listed law firm [...]
Morrisons ups offer to bail out McColls in bid to claw chain back from Asda owning rivals May 8, 2022 Morrisons has put forward a last-minute offer to bail out McColls in a bid to claw it out the hands of its Asda owning rivals. Bradford headquartered supermarket chain Morrisons has improved its offer to buy McColls by vowing to pay its lenders immediately in full, Sky News first reported today. The improved offer comes [...]
