FTSE 100 has a muted start as investors await European Central Bank big reveal March 10, 2016 The FTSE 100 made a muted start to trading today, as investors nervously awaited a big reveal from the European Central Bank's Mario Draghi, who is expected to take rates further into negative territory later today. The FTSE 100 edged down 0.1 per cent in early trading, as economists expected Draghi to cut the central bank's deposit rate [...]
Aviva set to report £100m impact from UK floods while Prudential will post another year of earnings growth March 6, 2016 Aviva is set to reveal the UK floods in December put a £100m dent in earnings for 2015 when it reports its annual results on Thursday. The impact of the floods, as well as the recently announced acquisition of RBC Insurance in Canada, is likely to drag operating earnings per share from 49.2p to 47p, [...]
The rate of change: Oliver’s Simon Martin on speed, Starbucks and the in-house model February 29, 2016 Whether it’s time to market or a reactive social campaign, speed is of the essence in business today. But while a catalyst remains unchanged after accelerating a chemical reaction, marketing agencies must transform to meet the evolving needs of their clients. “We created all the content around educating Starbucks customers about pre-ordering their drinks,” says Simon [...]
More and more people are planning ahead for their death by looking for ways to cover funeral costs February 25, 2016 More and more people are planning ahead for the financial costs of their final days, according to analysis from a funeral plan provider. According to Golden Charter, the number of sales for pre-paid funeral plans shot up by nearly 25 per cent in 2015. Collectively across the UK people now hold more than a million pre-paid [...]
London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse deal: Robey Warshaw, Linklaters and Perella Weinberg among the big players working on the merger February 23, 2016 As the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Boerse hammer out the details of their potential merger, City A.M. takes a look at the bankers and other advisers trying to make the deal happen. Boutique banks are booming, and none more so than London-based Robey Warshaw. Co-founder Simon Robey may be a huge Arsenal fan, but was [...]
EU referendum: Asda, HSBC, Vodafone and nearly 200 sign letter saying Brexit would threaten jobs – but Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s are not on the list February 23, 2016 The bosses of HSBC, BT, Vodafone and Asda are among those to have put their name to an open letter backing the remain camp and Prime Minister David Cameron's reforms in Europe. More than a third of the UK's biggest companies were represented in the letter, which was published in The Times this morning, saying they represented [...]
Fixed income managers unanimous in their predictions that Britain will not leave the EU February 11, 2016 Fixed income managers do not expect the UK to leave the European Union, according to a new survey by Aviva Investors. When asked about the prospects of a Brexit later this year, the firm’s 20 fixed income managers unanimously predicted that the UK would remain in the EU for at least another two years. This [...]
Pinewood Studios’ share price jumps on profit increase and sale consideration February 10, 2016 Pinewood, the iconic studio behind the recent James Bond and Star Wars films has sent the company’s share price soaring after announcing it could put itself up for sale to "maximise value" for shareholders. Shares are up by almost 20 per cent in mid morning trading. Pinewood has appointed investment bank Rothschild to look into [...]
UK adults expecting a big windfall from inheritance are set to be sorely disappointed, with one in ten mistakenly believing that the payout they predict will fund their retirement February 3, 2016 UK adults are routinely overestimating how much they stand to inherit, while also shunning valuable discussions about financial planning with older relatives. According to figures shown exclusively to City A.M. by VouchedFor, people expect to receive an average of £127,454 from inheritances, and one in ten believe that they are set to receive an inheritance [...]
Parliament to debate gender pricing and why there seems to be a premium on being female, as goods marketed towards women cost more February 2, 2016 MPs are set to debate an apparent tax on colouring things pink this evening, after research unveiled that the price tag on items marketed towards the fairer sex is routinely hiked up. The debate on gender pricing, which is set to take place in Westminster Hall at 4:30pm today, was raised by Paula Sherriff, the Labour MP for Dewsbury. [...]