Aviva hikes dividend by 10 per cent as operating profit rises 13 per cent – but combined operating ratio deteriorates August 4, 2016 Insurance giant Aviva has hiked its dividend after posting "encouraging" results for the first half of 2016. The figures Operating profit was up 13 per cent to £1.33bn, from £1.17bn last year, with operating earnings per share up one per cent to 22.4p, from 22.1p in the first half of 2015. General insurance net written premiums [...]
How crowdfunding can give you an income boost in a low-rate wasteland August 4, 2016 With the Bank of England widely expected to cut interest rates this afternoon, savers are bracing themselves for a further drop in the already pitiful returns they are earning on deposit accounts. According to data from comparison site Moneyfacts, the average five-year fixed rate bond offered an interest rate of just 2 per cent in [...]
City A.M.’s Rio 50: These are the 50 most marketable athletes at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games August 3, 2016 Do you thrill to the Mobot? Or tingle when Jess Ennis-Hill ducks for the line? Perhaps it’s Usain Bolt’s signature To Di World celebration, an Andy Murray fist pump, or gymnastics doyenne Simone Biles cheekily winking during a floor routine that brings out the goose-pimples. Everyone has their favourites: those sportsmen and women who we [...]
City Moves for 1 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 1, 2016 Independent Oil and Gas Independent Oil and Gas has appointed David Peattie as chairman. David has 35 years’ industry experience and was most recently the CEO of Fairfield Energy, an oil & gas company owned by a syndicate of North American and European private equity investors, led by Riverstone and Warburg Pincus. David began his [...]
A third of over-45s in London worry they will never pay off their mortgage July 27, 2016 A third of people over 45 in London worry they will never be mortgage-free, according to a report from Aviva released today. Aviva found 32 per cent of over-45s in London are uncertain about whether they will ever be able to pay off their mortgage, compared to 17 per cent of over-45s across the UK. Read [...]
Biotech, robots, Fangs – what’s the hottest tech to invest in? July 26, 2016 The sudden craze for mobile game Pokémon Go has brought the spotlight back onto the potential for investors in technology. The game became the fastest-adopted in history following its release two weeks ago, and shares in co-owner Nintendo rose a massive 70 per cent. The share price has since been tempered with a 17 per cent [...]
Shot in the Arm for the City as £24bn mega-deal is agreed July 19, 2016 British tech giant Arm Holdings yesterday agreed to a £24.3bn takeover by telecoms group Softbank, in a move that would go down as the second largest outbound Japanese deal on record. Softbank has pounced for the Cambridge-based chip-maker following a sharp drop in the value of the pound, largely prompted by last month’s vote to leave [...]
BT Sport price increase will place “huge pressure” on pubs July 14, 2016 Pub groups have hit out at BT Sport's 8.9 per cent subscription price rise, announced yesterday, that will be enacted from 1 September. BT's move follows a 10 per cent price rise from Sky last month. The average monthly price for BT Sport for an independent pub will increase by £35 a month to £430, excluding [...]
How artificial intelligence, peer-to-peer technology and blockchain are changing the insurance industry forever July 14, 2016 Just as fintech is transforming the banking world, “insurtech” has set its sights on the insurance industry. There are firms like Trov, which provides insurance on-demand and enables consumers to catalogue insured belongings. Buzzmove uses home removals data to create a new distribution model for insurance – people are more likely to renew or buy [...]
Aberdeen property fund is open for business again July 13, 2016 Aberdeen has re-opened its property fund, after it suspended trading due to heavy outflows, draining the fund's cash reserves. The fund was one of six that closed after investors scrambled to get their cash back due to uncertainty about UK property after the Brexit vote. Read more: Property fund to sell Oxford Street property to meet [...]