Watchdog to probe unfair PPI sales fees May 27, 2015 BANKS and brokers could face a new wave of costs related to payment protection insurance (PPI) and other products sold to customers, after a judge said hidden high commissions on sales can be unfair on customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking into the judgement from the Supreme Court in November 2014, which found [...]
Queen’s Speech 2015: Let’s hope the Tories are saving the radicalism for the Budget May 27, 2015 We were told we’d never see such a sight again. Majorities were a thing of the past, they said, and coalition politics was here to stay. And yet there it was yesterday – resplendent in all the finery and pageantry that the British state can muster – a legislative programme for a majority Tory government. [...]
National Waiters’ Day: Unions protest outside Pizza Express, Grosvenor House Marriot Hotel over low pay May 21, 2015 Waiting staff are out on protest today in central London over low pay and claims that Pizza Express management are “pocketing an estimated £1m that should go to poorly paid staff”. Unite the union is organising the event, which began at midday on National Waiters' Day, outside the Leicester Square branch of Pizza Express. [...]
The glamorous world of Ivan Massow: Everything you need to know about London’s latest Mayoral candidate May 18, 2015 London's Mayoral election just got interesting, after entrepreneur Ivan Massow announced his intention to run as Conservative candidate in the vote, due to take place next year. There's no doubt London likes its leader to have bags of character (see: "Boris Johnson cheerfully dangling off a zipwire") – and Massow has character a-plenty. Here's everything [...]
Investec Comment: Why the future is bright for SME finance May 10, 2015 NO ONE needs to be told that it’s been a difficult few years for small businesses seeking finance, and economic recovery has done little to change this picture. The Bank of England’s latest Trends in Lending report found that the annual rate of growth in the stock of lending to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [...]
End in sight for RSA as Hester’s turnaround plan nears deadline May 7, 2015 STEPHEN Hester, credited with bringing RBS back from the brink of collapse, is continuing to make similar progress in turning insurance group RSA around. Shares in the firm went up by 2.2 per cent yesterday to 427.3p after it reported a one per cent increase in core premium income during the three months to 31 [...]
Tidjane Thiam’s last Prudential results put spotlight on Asia while UK business lags May 6, 2015 Outgoing Prudential boss Tidjane Thiam yesterday said the company was no longer seeking to grow in the US and UK, and would instead focus on expanding in the Asian market. Thiam delivered his last set of results as the head of the insurance group, which detailed the firm’s 22nd consecutive quarter of growth. Sales across [...]
IPOs breathe life into stagnant small caps after investment struggle May 5, 2015 Investments in the UK’s smaller companies have struggled this year, but some fund managers are hoping that newly-listed companies will help revive the sector. Since the start of the year, small caps quoted on the FTSE Aim All-Share TR index have lagged their large-cap peers on the FTSE 100. But since April, smaller companies have [...]
Tidjane Thiam will be replaced by Mike Wells as Prudential chief exec May 1, 2015 Prudential has found its successor for departing chief executive Tidjane Thiam – and they haven't had to look too far. Mike Wells, head of the company's US arm Jackson National Life, will step into the role vacated by the popular Thiam, who is leaving to head up Credit Suisse. The 55-year-old will replace a resoundingly popular [...]
David Cameron is right: We should balance the budget without tax hikes April 29, 2015 The Prime Minister pledged yesterday to introduce a law to prevent increases in income tax, national insurance and VAT for the whole of the next Parliament. While a law may be a crude tool, it does reinforce two crucial points. First, deficit reduction should come primarily from reductions in public spending rather than further tax [...]