Boris’ Brexit blindside: What the hell just happened? August 28, 2019 Boris Johnson has put the cat among the pigeons by asking the Queen to suspend parliament for nearly five weeks, reducing the amount of time parliament sits before the critical Brexit Halloween deadline. Remainers are outraged. Brexiters are sceptical. But what happens next? Is proroguing parliament legal? That’s a tough one. Certainly, Johnson’s team wanted [...]
Does Hargreaves Lansdown’s strategy cause too much money to pour into too few funds? August 28, 2019 Given that diversification is one of the most important principles of investing, we should question why the UK’s largest investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown doesn’t seem to be following this basic idea. This became apparent in the wake of the scandal around Britain’s most famous fund manager, as £1.6bn was funnelled into Neil Woodford’s still-suspended fund [...]
What to do about staff skipping work for the beach August 20, 2019 We’ve heard it all before: “my cat is having kittens”, “I’ve hurt my back”, “I’ve got food poisoning”, “my bathtub fell through my ceiling”, or “my car broke down”. When the sun is out, employees might feel inclined to use one of these excuses in order to skip work and do something a little more [...]
City Moves for 19 August – Who’s switching jobs at Morgan Lewis, Saranac Partners and Sativa? August 20, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Morgan Lewis, Saranac Partners and Sativa. Morgan Lewis Morgan Lewis has appointed corporate lawyer Ayesha Waheed, who focuses on international energy and infrastructure transactions, as a partner resident in London. Ayesha has significant experience throughout Europe and in emerging markets in Africa and Asia, particularly south east Asia. She arrives from [...]
DEBATE: In the midst of commuter outrage over fare hikes, is rail nationalisation the answer? August 15, 2019 In the midst of commuter outrage over fare hikes, is rail nationalisation the answer? Cat Hobbs, director of We Own It, says YES. Another year, another eye-watering rail fare hike, with the annual cost of getting to work likely to rise by over £100 for many commuters. And it’s no wonder passengers are angry. We’re [...]
John McDonnell has put a nationalist cat among the Scottish pigeons August 9, 2019 Labour has a problem – and for once it isn’t antisemitism. This time, it’s second-in-command John McDonnell, who this week defied party policy and threw a spanner in the constitutional works by declaring that he backed allowing Scotland to vote again on independence. Speaking at an event at the Edinburgh Fringe (a festival more commonly [...]
A truly radical and pragmatic Prime Minister would let parliament get a cat August 2, 2019 Parliament is infested with vermin. According to an internal report seen by the MailOnline, the Westminster war on mice is being lost, despite £111,498 spent on pest control last year. As political conundrums go, this one has an obvious solution: allow cats on the parliamentary estate. Lots of them. Practical, inexpensive, and ruthlessly effective, this [...]
Barclays and RBS among banks hit by £1bn forex rigging lawsuit July 29, 2019 Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are among five banks targeted in a £1bn class action lawsuit over forex rigging that was filed today. The action follows a May ruling by the European Commission that Barclays, RBS, JP Morgan, Citibank and UBS had violated EU competition law. The five banks have been collectively [...]
Just Eat share price jumps as it agrees key terms in £9bn Takeaway.com merger July 29, 2019 Food delivery site Just Eat and Dutch business Takeaway.com today confirmed they had agreed key terms for their possible £9bn all-share merger. Read more: Just Eat shares fall after Amazon makes multi-million dollar investment in Deliveroo Following completion of the deal Just Eat shareholders would own approximately 52.2 per cent of the company and Takeaway [...]
Snap boosts revenue and users with new “augmented reality” features July 23, 2019 Snapchat parent company Snap boosted its user numbers and revenue in the second quarter of the year as customers lapped up its “augmented reality” filters, although it is yet to turn a profit. Read more: Snap smashes expectations with narrowed losses and surprise user additions Revenue at the US social media firm rocketed by 48 [...]