Aviva hikes dividend and assures £400m takeover nearly over August 10, 2022 Insurance giant Aviva has sought to soothe investor concerns today, confirming that the nearly £400m takeover of Succession Wealth will be completed later this year. The deal is expected to be wrap up in the second half. While its interim dividend for this year has jumped 40 per cent to 10.3p per share – up [...]
Royal Mail expects full-year loss if strikes go ahead August 10, 2022 Royal Mail said it would be “materially loss-making” for the financial year 2022-2023 if its employees go ahead with planned strike action. More than 115,000 Royal Mail postal workers are set to strike for four days in a dispute over pay, with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the workers, announcing that 24-hour walkouts [...]
China’s zero-Covid policy hits Prudential’s business August 10, 2022 London insurance company Prudential today said it had suffered steep losses from its Hong Kong business due to China’s zero-Covid policy. The Asian focused insurer said profits from underwriting new policies fell 31 per cent in Hong Kong and four per cent in Mainland China. Covid restrictions in Prudential’s other cornerstone markets – Indonesia, Malaysia, [...]
Widening losses for Deliveroo while Next chair Lord Wolfson exits board August 10, 2022 Delivery platform Deliveroo has posted a heftier loss while also announcing the departure of Next chair Lord Simon Wolfson from its board. In its half-year results, the London-listed firm posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of £68m, a wider loss than the £26m posted in the first half of 2021. However, it marked an improvement of [...]
We can’t connect to 5G if it strips away property rights August 10, 2022 Lower taxes, net zero and rising fuel costs have dominated the Tory leadership debate. But as we move into the final month of the run-off between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, another battle is raging that strikes at the heart of true Conservative values. We’ve heard a range of promises directed at card-carrying Conservative farmers, [...]
Fear has pushed us back to cash as banks fail to help consumers control spending August 10, 2022 We’ve come to believe we live in an almost completely cashless society today. In fact, withdrawing large amounts of cash from your bank is viewed with suspicion – victim of fraud or tax evasion? What other possible reason could you have for cash? Even Big Issue sellers now have Square readers to accommodate this shift. [...]
Admiral profit and share earnings halve as ‘unique’ pandemic conditions fade August 10, 2022 Insurance giant Admiral has had its pre-tax profits and share earnings halve over the past year, nearing pre-pandemic levels as the “unique” Covid-19 market conditions fade. The group’s profit before tax sunk 48 per cent to £251.3m in the six months to 30 June, in comparison with the same period in 2021. However, the figure [...]
Politicians need to find a balance with social media like TikTok, not run from it August 10, 2022 THE UK Parliamentary account on TikTok was unceremoniously banned from the Westminster estate last week after a group of MPs alerted the Speaker of the House to the account’s existence. While concerns about national security and data access in China are understandable, an outright closure of such an important route to engaging people in politics [...]
Hostelworld eyes operational profitability later this year as travel demand rebounds August 10, 2022 Travel platform Hostelworld has said it hopes to be profitable at an operational level in the second half of the year, as holidaymakers have returned in recent months. In interim results, the London-listed company said net revenue hit €28m in the period, compared to just €2.9m the previous year, as travel restrictions eased. While overall [...]
Three in four Brits want hybrid work to cope with cost of living crisis August 10, 2022 Three in four British workers want hybrid work to cope with the cost of living crisis gripping the country. Employees want their employers to offer flexible hybrid working as inflation surges to record levels of 9.4 per cent in the country, a survey by hiring software company Greenhouse found today. As the cost of essentials [...]
