Ikea France on trial over illegal spying on employees and customers March 22, 2021 Ikea’s French subsidiary and several of its former executives have gone on trial over accusations that they illegally spied on employees and customers. Trade unions reported the furniture and home goods company to French authorities in 2012, accusing it of collecting personal data by fraudulent means and the illicit disclosure of personal information. The unions [...]
Barclays expands private bank to France and Italy in bid to grow EU business March 22, 2021 Barclays has expanded its private banking division to France and Italy as it looks to grow its European wealth business in the wake of Brexit. The bank said on Monday that it had appointed Bernard Corneau and Carlo Baronio as heads of private bank coverage in France and Italy respectively. The duo will be supported [...]
Women’s Super League nets £21m in groundbreaking TV rights deal with Sky and BBC March 22, 2021 Sky and the BBC have agreed a landmark TV rights deal with the Football Association for the Women’s Super League (WSL). Under previous contracts, broadcasters have only paid production costs to show the WSL. The new three-year deal, which starts in September, is worth at least £7m per season, making it the most lucrative of [...]
FTSE 100 falls as fresh lockdowns across Europe dampen economic outlook March 19, 2021 The FTSE 100 fell this morning as fresh Covid-19 lockdowns across Europe dampened hopes of a swift recovery in demand for industrial stocks including energy. London’s blue-chip index sank 1.2 per cent, before recovering slightly to sit 0.6 per cent down at 8.30am. Oil heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell fell 3.2 per cent and [...]
Illuminate Financial closes $100m round with backing from JP Morgan and Barclays March 17, 2021 London-based VC firm Illuminate Financial has closed a $100m round with backing from JP Morgan Chase and Barclays. The fund, which is Illuminate’s second, was anchored by Deutsche Borse and IHS Markit, with additional backing from Draper Esprit and family offices. It was launched in early 2019 before closing in January 2021. “It has been [...]
There are 19 FTSE 100 companies without any ethnic minority board members – is this really the best UK PLC can do? March 17, 2021 There are 19 FTSE 100 companies that still don’t have anyone from an ethnic minority on their board. This comes despite a target set by the government-backed Parker Review into corporate diversity of at least one person from an ethnic minority on every board by 2021. Yes it’s true that seven all-white boards have disappeared [...]
Wall Street and FTSE 100 push higher as markets shrug off Astrazeneca saga March 16, 2021 Wall Street rose to record highs this afternoon as tech stocks gained momentum ahead of a two-day policy meeting for the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was up 0.27 per cent to an all-time high while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.17 per cent, extending a rebound in stocks following last month’s sell-off. The Dow Jones [...]
City minister calls for ‘responsible capitalism’ in financial services sector March 16, 2021 The UK’s financial services sector should move toward a more “responsible” form of capitalism that takes into account a broader ranger of interests and not just shareholders, according to City minister John Glen. Glen wrote today that the Square Mile was “ideally placed to showcase this responsible capitalism” through, but that firms should “reject some [...]
Mark Carney comes out against proposed coal mine in Cumbria March 16, 2021 The former head of the Bank of England Mark Carney has come out against the planned coal mine in Cumbria because it risks derailing progress on climate change. Last week the local government secretary Robert Jenrick announced an investigation into the mine after “further developments” which reportedly included a report from the independent committee on [...]
Wizz Air’s largest investor sells £400m stake in carrier March 16, 2021 Wizz Air’s largest shareholder has sold half of its stake in the Hungarian airline for £400m, it was announced this morning. Private equity firm Indigo Partners had owned 17.5 per cent of the FTSE 250 flier, but will now have a stake of about 8.5 per cent. The sale was carried out via an accelerated [...]