P2P lending: These are the nine key trends in alternative finance April 13, 2016 How will P2P lending fare in a downturn? Can the industry improve securitisation practices? Why did growth slow last year? Is China really the most exciting market? What will consolidation mean for the industry? These are just some of the questions thrown about at LendIt USA. With over 4,000 attendees, including the world’s leading platforms [...]
Panama papers law firm founders begin damage limitation April 5, 2016 The founders of the law firm at the centre of the Panama papers tax evasion scandal have begun damage limitation, calling the investigation a "media witch hunt". In an interview with the Financial Times, Mossack Fonseca founder Ramon Fonseca said the disclosure was undermining legitimacy of offshore companies. Fonseca blamed hackers, and adding that in the [...]
Supermarket sales rise over Easter – but prove egg-sasperating for Tesco, Morrisons and Asda April 5, 2016 It could have been so easy for supermarkets. Not only are prices at an all-time low, but an early Easter pushed sales up compared with last year, new figures have shown. But while the Easter bunny hopped along to most of the nation's retailers, the big four continued to struggle. The figures, by Kantar Worldpanel, showed sales [...]
Peer-to-peer lending: What will happen in a downturn? March 30, 2016 Speak to any fund manager about their interest in peer-to-peer lending, and they all say the same: “it really needs to go through a business cycle, then I’ll look at it properly”. During the financial crisis, only one P2P lender was in existence – Zopa. Since then, it has been joined by industry heavyweights Funding [...]
Pet insurance claims hit record numbers, according to figures from the Association of British Insurers, with just short of one million claims being made in 2015 March 29, 2016 Pet insurance claims hit a record high in 2015, according to figures released today by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The number of insurance claims made reached 911,000, up nine per cent compared with 2014, while their value clocked in at £657m, which is the equivalent of £1.8m a day. The average pet insurance premium came in [...]
Brussels cats are back: But why do we turn to internet cat memes like Grumpy Cat, Lolcats and #BrusselsLockdown in a time of crisis? March 22, 2016 Laughing at cats on the internet is nothing new. But using them as a tool to laugh in times of crisis could well be. Belgian authorities asked locals to avoid posting about police raids via social media for fear that information could aid terrorists, last year. People complied to this potentially aggravating censorship in an unconventional way. From hovercraft felines [...]
Brussels cats return to Twitter after twin attacks in Belgian city leave at least 34 dead, more than 100 wounded March 22, 2016 Brussels' residents are once again finding solace against terrorism in cat pictures. The Belgian city was the scene of a lockdown in November as authorities attempted to trace suspects behind the Paris attacks, which killed 130 people. At the time, residents were asked not to tweet pictures that might tip off suspects – prompting a wave of cat [...]
London’s best steamed buns: Where to find the ultimate street-food snack March 11, 2016 Steamed buns – variously known as baozi, bao, humbow, nunu, bakpau, bausak, pow – are quite possibly the best thing ever. East Asian countries including Korea, Taiwan, China and Japan all have their own take on this light, fluffy package of sweet or savoury goodness. Thankfully, London has plenty of places you can pick them [...]
Foxtons hit by stamp duty changes and EU uncertainty March 8, 2016 Foxtons said it has been hit by falling volumes in central London as stamp duty pressures put off buyers. The figures Although revenues grew 4.1 per cent to £149.8m in the year to the end of December, pre-tax profits fell 2.6 per cent to £41m, Foxtons said this morning. But sales revenue rose 3.4 per cent to £72.2m as the number of units it sold rose 4.4 [...]
London house prices: Prime Central London property is experiencing a dead-cat bounce, after demand for high-end homes suddenly rose March 7, 2016 London's high-end property market may be experiencing a dead-cat bounce – after demand for homes in London's most exclusive areas spiked as investors attempt to squeeze in transactions before stamp duty is hiked in April. Research by online estate agent Emoov, seen exclusively by City A.M., showed demand for homes worth £1m or more has jumped by [...]