Woolard review: FCA cracks down on £2.7bn buy-now-pay-later market February 2, 2021 Interest-free buy-now-pay-later credit agreements will be regulated by the City watchdog after the market swelled to £2.7bn last year. The plans, drawn up by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), have been designed to protect consumers, after the use of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) transactions tripled in 2020, as shoppers looked for ways to spread their money further [...]
How Tampa went from fast food badland to supercool trailblazer February 2, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Ashwin Bhandari’s trip to Tampa to see a food scene revolutionised by a new generation of chefs. ••• On a Friday night in Seminole Heights, The Refinery restaurant is buzzing. Every seat is [...]
Regulation must deliver transparency and protection for BNPL consumers February 2, 2021 In 2020 UK consumers reduced their collective credit card bill by £10bn, the largest annual reduction since records began. At the same time debit card usage increased sharply as consumers, locked down at home, adopted online shopping in huge numbers. The shift to debit cards has been happening for many years across countries. Millennials, in [...]
Property chiefs: Lockdown and end of stamp duty holiday push down house prices February 2, 2021 The most recent drop in house prices is primarily caused by the soon-to-end stamp duty holiday, combined with the UK’s third national lockdown, property professionals told City A.M. this morning. According to new figures, published by Nationwide earlier this morning, January saw property prices fall for the first time in six months as the end [...]
Bada bing, ADA Boom! February 2, 2021 Crypto at a Glance It’s always nice to wake up to a sea of green, and with a couple of notable exceptions it’s been a strong 24 hours across the board. Bitcoin is holding strong over $34,000, although it’s still yet to convincingly break out of that range between $30,000 and $35,000. It looks to [...]
Capco suffers £275m hit as lockdowns damage value of Covent Garden estate February 2, 2021 Property giant Capital & Counties has seen the value of its central London estate fall by around £275m in the second half of 2020, as the landlord was hit by Covid-19 lockdowns. Capco, which manages over 1 million sq ft of space in the West End, suffered a 27 per cent yearly drop in value [...]
Green tariffs alone not enough to prompt UK energy consumers to switch supplier February 2, 2021 Over three-fifths (62%) of UK energy consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service that is sustainable, with over 40% of under 35s willing to pay a premium for sustainable energy, a new EY survey reveals today. The survey, which canvassed the views of 2,000 UK energy consumers to explore their attitudes towards [...]
Covid restrictions drive online food shopping to record high as customers eat in to help out February 2, 2021 Online grocery shopping hit a record 14 per cent share of the UK grocery market in January, as customers bought more food to enjoy from home. The growth was boosted by a 229 per cent year-on-year rise in online spending by retired households. Supermarkets saw sales growth accelerate to 12.2 per cent in the last [...]
BP posts $5.7bn annual loss after coronavirus decimates oil market February 2, 2021 Oil supermajor BP swung to a $5.7bn ($4.2bn) reported loss in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic sent oil demand plummeting. The combination of lower oil and gas prices, significant exploration write-offs and refining margins and depressed demand sent the firm deep into the red after 2019’s $10bn profit. The firm also undershot analyst expectations for [...]
City of London lobby urges EU to grant UK financial services firms widespread access to its markets February 2, 2021 The City of London’s most influential lobby group has urged Brussels to grant Britain’s finance sector wide-ranging post-Brexit access as talks between the UK and EU on financial services continue. The CityUK today called for the EU to grant regulatory equivalence to the sector, while also calling for the UK government to provide more clarity [...]
