Citigroup forces UK junior bankers to take two weeks off by October August 25, 2021 Citigroup has asked its junior bankers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to take two weeks off work by the end of September. The measures, introduced in July and first reported by Bloomberg, form part of the Wall Street giant’s bid to improve working conditions for its youngest employees. The bank is fighting [...]
Bank North bags fresh licence in its bid to localise the future of banking August 25, 2021 Bank North has secured a banking licence from the Bank of England as it looks to target northern cities with regionally focused lenders. The upcoming lender will open in October to small businesses in and around Greater Manchester, with plans to start taking retail deposits next year. The bank’s boss Jonathan Thompson explained that Bank [...]
Afterpay marketing costs double in bid to secure US payments market August 25, 2021 Australian transactions firm Afterpay has watched its losses widen in the past year, as it ramped up costs in a bid to secure the US market. Marketing costs more than doubled in the year to June, as the firm attempted to capitalise on the pandemic-induced buy now, pay later (BNPL) services boom – which accompanied [...]
Santander US to snap up remaining stake in consumer unit for $2.5bn August 24, 2021 Santander’s US division is set to buy the minority stake in its American consumer unit for $2.5bn. Snapping up the remaining 20 per cent of the business, the deal values the entire Santander Consumer US unit at $12.7bn, the bank said in a statement. Santander offered some $41.5 per share – a 6.4 per [...]
London property managing platform Plentific bags $100m in fresh funding August 24, 2021 London-based Plentific, which operates a property management platform, has pulled in $100m (£72.8m) in its latest funding round. The Series C fundraiser, led by fresh investors Highland Europe and Brookfield Technology Partners, is set to finance its expansion plans across the US and the rest of the world. Investors old and new piled into the [...]
Former Amazon vice president poached for Ocado board August 24, 2021 Online retailer Ocado has poached a former Amazon vice president and robotics expert for its board, as the supermarket looks to broaden its market share. Incoming independent non-executive director and board veteran, Nadia Shouraboura, is set to join Ocado at the turn of September. Shares lifted 2.43 per cent by the afternoon, taking the group’s [...]
Wood boss hails ‘momentum’ despite revenue dive as order book swells to $7.7bn August 24, 2021 Energy infrastructure group Wood has seen its orderbook swell to $7.7bn in the past six months, while revenue has taken a tumble. Shares had slipped 0.64 per cent to 232.1p per share, following the announcement. Revenue sank 22.9 per cent in its interim results for the six months to 30 June, which the group put [...]
Baidu-backed AI voice assistant firm Xiaodu racks up $5.1bn valuation August 24, 2021 Chinese tech giant Baidu has confirmed its artificial intelligence voice assistant firm Xiaodu Technology has racked up an eyewatering $5.1bn valuation today. Following the artificial intelligence (AI) firm’s Series B fundraiser, Baidu will remain a majority shareholder. The lofty valuation comes in amid a local regulatory clampdown, spearheaded by Beijing, which has locked eyes on [...]
China pauses over 40 IPOs as hawkish eyes fall on intermediaries August 24, 2021 Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets have hit pause on more than 40 initial public offerings, as Chinese regulators probe several intermediaries featuring in the deals. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange has suspended more than 30 initial public offerings (IPOs), including public listing plans by electric car manufacturer BYD’s chip-making unit, which was scuppered on Wednesday. [...]
Business blow: UK-US travel corridor could remain closed until November August 24, 2021 The UK and US travel corridor could remain closed to Brits until late November, according to reports, in a major blow for both business and leisure. Currently, the US is only allowing American citizens, their relatives and a few exempt groups into the country. Virgin Atlantic has already postponed its restart date for its Heathrow to [...]