Water firms slammed over ‘unacceptable’ environmental performance July 13, 2021 Southern Water and South West Water have this morning been slammed over their environmental record, which the sector watchdog called “consistently unacceptable”. According to the Environment Agency’s latest annual report into the UK’s water firms, no single company hit all the targets laid out for the 2015-2020 period. Although pollution incidents declined for the second [...]
Cyber attacks spurred by staff working from home, says global financial watchdog July 13, 2021 The surge of cyber attacks on the financial services sector, prompted by staff working from home, are likely to continue, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) says. The FSB, which coordinates financial guidelines for the G20 group of nations, said the pandemic-induced trend of working from home opened up new opportunities for cyber attacks. In their [...]
Metropolitan Police seize record £180m of cryptocurrency July 13, 2021 The Met has seized a record £180m of cryptocurrency connected to the capital as it looks to crack down on international money laundering. It follows the seizure of £114 of crypto last month – a woman arrested in connection with that case is now being interviewed for this latest confiscation. She has since been bailed [...]
UK entertainment and media industry to lead western Europe by 2025 July 13, 2021 The UK’s entertainment and media industry is forecast to become the largest in western Europe by 2025 following a rapid rebound in the aftermath of the pandemic. The sector has suffered a major setback due to Covid, with total revenue falling five per cent in 2020 due to the impact of lockdowns on cinema, live [...]
Barclays hires JPMorgan veteran Peter Ward to head global e-trading team July 13, 2021 Peter Ward, a JPMorgan veteran, has been hired by Barclays to become head of digital strategy and global electronic trading from September. He will be based in New York City. Ward will report directly to the bank’s co-president, C.S. Venkatakrishnan, who led the global markets business after a major reshuffle at the top, according to [...]
Bursting the bubble: Do widespread narratives about speculative bubbles stand up to the evidence? July 13, 2021 According to popular narratives, episodes of market bubbles are replete throughout financial history. Some commentators argue that current valuation levels may reflect the emergence of bubble-like conditions. But what exactly is a bubble, and what does the evidence say? A new book published by the CFA Institute Research Foundation argues that more critical analysis is [...]
Is digital currency the future of cashback and loyalty points? July 13, 2021 Alex Lightman explains how cryptocurrencies can be woven into the fabric of our everyday purchases in the shape of loyalty programs.
Kate Middleton-favoured maternity brand Seraphine eyeing £150m IPO July 13, 2021 Online maternity and nursing brand Seraphine is looking to raise just over £150m in its London IPO, floating on the tech-crazed market for the first time today. Today’s float, which commenced at 08:00, will see Kate Middleton’s go-to maternity brand’s shares set at 295p per share under the ticker “BUMP”. Around 50 per cent of [...]
FAA finds new fault in Dreamliner in latest Boeing setback July 13, 2021 The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that it had found another fault in undelivered Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes. The aerospace giant will have to fix the issue before the jets can be delivered, it added. According to the FAA, the issue poses no immediate threat to flight safety. The issue in question is “near [...]
France hits Google with €500m fine in news copyright row July 13, 2021 The French competition watchdog has hit Google with a €500m (£427m) fine for failing to comply fully with temporary orders handed down in a copyright row with news publishers. News outlets including Agence France-Presse (AFP) accused the tech giant of failing to open talks “in good faith” to reach an agreement on remuneration for online [...]