Bunzl ploughs on with its international acquisitive expansion November 22, 2016 Outsourcing giant Bunzl showed no signs of stopping its spending spree as it announced two further acquisitions today. French first aid product making firms Prorisk and GM Equipement and Saebe Compagniet, a Danish distributor of cleaning and hygiene related products, will be absorbed into FTSE 100 group. Although transaction values were not revealed, the firms generate in the region of [...]
Four ways the City watchdog wants to make fund managers better for investors November 18, 2016 The City watchdog has this morning put forward plans for a shake-up of the £7 trillion asset management industry to ensure investors get a better deal. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), publishing the interim findings of its market study, found weak price competition in some areas, a lack of transparency, potential conflicts of interest and sustained profitability [...]
A third of working families struggling to pay energy bills despite three-year price freeze, uSwitch finds November 17, 2016 Almost 4m households, or one in three working families, are already struggling to pay their energy bills this winter despite there being no major price hikes for three years, according to new research. Half of working families are planning to cut their energy use this winter so they can afford their bills, energy price comparison [...]
Financial Conduct Authority approves Tullett Prebon takeover of Icap’s voice broking business November 15, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has given its nod of approval to Tullett Prebon’s acquisition of Icap’s voice broking and information business. The deal has already received backing from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Tullett expects to complete the transaction this year. Read more: Broker Icap makes new chief exec appointment after deal [...]
Metro Bank, Deloitte and Setl are testing a blockchain-based contactless card November 15, 2016 Metro Bank, Deloitte and blockchain startup Setl have created a card for making simple contactless payments such as buying a morning coffee, using the distributed ledger technology (DLT) in a trial that's understood to be the first of its kind. The card has been tested by 100 people as part of the City watchdog's fintech sandbox [...]
Trump versus Hillary: How to make money whoever wins the US presidency November 8, 2016 This presidential campaign has been nothing if not unpredictable. Less than a fortnight ago, a victory for Hillary Clinton looked all but certain. Then it emerged that the FBI was investigating a new set of emails connected with her private server. Now, she has been cleared, but Donald Trump is arguing that her latest exoneration [...]
Meet the 18 companies joining the FCA’s regulatory sandbox November 7, 2016 The UK's foward-thinking financial regulator has chosen 18 companies to participate in its so-called regulatory sandbox, where they will be able to test out new technologies without breaching rules. Launched over the summer, the sandbox is designed to foster fintech innovation while remaining under the supervisory eye of the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority. Read more: [...]
Your overdraft could be about to become cuddlier after the FCA outlined new rules November 3, 2016 Your overdraft could be about to become a lot friendlier, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it wants to improve competition in the market. This morning the FCA said it wants to improve transparency in the overdraft market by introducing a maximum monthly charge, which it hopes will increase customers' engagement with their "overdraft [...]
The influential Treasury Committee has launched a stinging attack on a probe into competition in retail banking November 2, 2016 An influential group of MPs has lashed out at a light-touch report into high street banking, days before the City watchdog publishes its verdict on the sector. Treasury Select Committee chair Andrew Tyrie said the failure of the Competition and Markets Authority to propose dramatic reform smacked of “complacency”, while Labour MP Rachel Reeves said the [...]
Lloyds Banking Group shares recover as profits slide and it puts £1bn aside for PPI claims October 26, 2016 Lloyds shares recovered from a drop this morning, after the bank revealed profits tumbled during its third quarter – and it set more money aside to cover payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. The figures Statutory pre-tax profits dropped to £811m for the three months to September, down 15 per cent from £958m the year before. Net interest income also [...]