Redesigning the global financial infrastructure for the digital-age August 6, 2021 Since the ‘DeFi Summer’ of 2020, the DeFi market has grown by 40 times, with the Total Value Locked currently standing at $61B. Stablecoins, one of the major pillars of DeFi, almost quadrupled in the first half of 2021 to $112 billion. Novum Insights’ latest report Decentralized Finance: Re-designing the global financial infrastructure for the [...]
Greensill-linked fund investors to recoup another $400m from Credit Suisse August 6, 2021 Credit Suisse is set to reimburse another $400m to investors in its supply chain finance funds linked to Greensill Capital, the bank said today. The latest payout is the fourth instalment since Greensill Capital collapsed earlier this year, taking the total amount returned to investors to $5.9bn. Read more: Credit Suisse appoints new chief risk [...]
Ollie Phillips: Lions series win would be heroic in the circumstances but momentum has swung behind South Africa before deciding Test August 6, 2021 As the British and Irish Lions prepare for their series-deciding third Test, it feels like all momentum has swung behind South Africa. Fair play to the Springboks; they nailed their game plan in the second match last weekend. It was set-piece perfection allied to a moment of magic from Handre Pollard, whose cross-field kick set [...]
15m UK households brace for soaring energy bills, which will rise by £139 August 6, 2021 Energy bills for 15 million households will increase by at least £139 from October because of a rise in wholesale energy prices, regulator Ofgem has said. Watchdog Ofgem said today that energy customers on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see the sharpest jump in prices since the cap was introduced, taking average energy [...]
FCA approves James Hay’s Nucleus acquisition, creating £47bn mega-platform August 6, 2021 Pensions provider James Hay gained the nod of approval from the UK’s financial regulator for its £145m acquisition of investment platform Nucleus, in one of the biggest UK deals in years. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approved Hay’s purchase of Nucleus on Friday, paving the way for their creation of a mammoth financial adviser platform [...]
FRC begins hunt for new chair after its governance dubbed a ‘grave risk’ August 6, 2021 The government has launched its recruitment drive for a new chair and non-executive directors for the Financial Reporting Council, after its governance was criticised. Although the watchdog has started the search for a permanent chair and six new non-executive directors, it will still be without a chair when Skeoch steps down in October. Just two [...]
HMRC revenue from Capital Gains Tax jumps fourfold as businesses sell off assets August 6, 2021 The government has collected almost £10bn from capital gains tax (CGT), a fourfold increase compared to a decade earlier. New HMRC data shows the taxman collected £9.94bn in the 2019-2020 tax year a sizeable jump from the £2.55bn sum taken for the year ending in April 2009. Over 28 per cent of CGT came from [...]
Could technology trigger a lasting boost to productivity? August 6, 2021 Two years ago, we identified a series of inescapable investment “truths” that we expected would shape the following decade. Among these truths, we highlighted the accelerated adoption of technology and increased populism as two disruptive trends to watch. But have these two trends been strengthened or challenged by the pandemic? Growth outlook stronger as economies adapt Despite [...]
London’s Capita returns to profit, driven by new government contract wins of £2.6bn August 6, 2021 London-headquartered Capita has reported a recovery in the first half of the year from its pandemic-induced losses a year earlier, as contract cancellations were replaced with £2.6bn worth of new contract wins. Adjusted profit before tax for the six months to 30 June increased by £56.4m – or 508 per cent – to £45.3m, bouncing [...]
Apple to scan iPhones for child sex abuse images August 6, 2021 Apple has announced plans to search people’s iPhones for child sex abuse material (CSAM) using new technology raising privacy concerns. Overnight Apple confirmed that “NeuralHash” technology will allow them to detect known CSAM images stored in iCloud photos. The automated system will perform on-device checks of photos before they are uploaded to the iCloud. The [...]
