The new machine age: Britain must not miss out on the robot revolution June 23, 2014 MORE and more people are concerned about a wave of robots stealing their jobs. But for Britain, there’s a more pressing concern: what if the robot economy doesn’t arrive here at all? For a while now, pundits have been speculating that robots, self-driving cars and clever algorithms will take many of the jobs now done [...]
ECB official claims securitised loans boost economic stability June 11, 2014 THE BUNDLES of loans that were blamed for exacerbating the financial crisis could in fact make the economy more stable, a top EU official said yesterday. Simple and transparent asset backed securities (ABS) – bundles of loans such as mortgages or business loans – can be sold on to non-bank investors who want to lend to those [...]
Tesco Bank current account finally checks in June 9, 2014 After six years of delays, glitches and excuses, and a cool £600m splashed on the project… BRITONS can today open current accounts with Tesco Bank as the retailer at last becomes a fully functioning challenger to the big banks. The long-awaited milestone comes at a tough time for Tesco, which hopes a stronger banking arm [...]
Banks and City regulator deny £1bn PPI crisis June 5, 2014 THE CITY watchdog and the banking industry do not recognise the claim that banks have underpaid payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling victims to the tune of £1bn, the groups said yesterday. An analysis of figures, commissioned by the BBC from an undisclosed source, had claimed banks were failing to repay the fees charged to borrowers as [...]
Saga’s adviser proposed higher issue price for the group’s shares June 4, 2014 BANKERS to Saga, the insurance to travel company for the over-50s that has seen its share price fall below its issue price, were last night arguing over where the responsibility lies for what is looking like a botched flotation. As shares in the group fell a further 5.5p yesterday to 172.5p, far below the 185p [...]
Inside Track: Pfizer flop puts Soriot in tight spot May 21, 2014 IF AT first you don't succeed, walk away and try again in six months: as City epithets go, it’s not exactly compelling. But it sums up where Pfizer finds itself at the end of this week, unexpectedly jilted after a quartet of knockbacks from Astrazeneca. The American drugmaker’s tactics were surprising. Its medicine cabinet was [...]
City Moves for 22 May 2014 | Who’s switching jobs May 21, 2014 Marsh The insurance company has appointed David Bramall as head of placement in its national corporate practice. He joined in 2008 as a casualty broker from Willis, where he was also a casualty broker. Lloyds Bank The bank has announced the appointment of Nigel Brady as a director for sterling financials trading in its commercial [...]
City Moves for 20 May 2014 | Who’s switching jobs May 19, 2014 IO The multi-let industrial estates management firm has announced the appointment of Oliver Bowditch to handle acquisitions. He joins from JLL, where he focused on providing valuation advice to banks, institutional investors and property companies. BDO The accountancy and business advisory firm has appointed Chris Bellairs as a partner in its financial services practice. He [...]
CNBC Comment: How Qatar became Europe’s power broker May 19, 2014 WHEN in distress, US banks call Warren Buffett. In Europe, banks have turned to Qatar. It may only be the size of Yorkshire, but Qatar’s swoop on Deutsche Bank confirms its role as Europe’s power broker, having struck similar deals with Barclays, Credit Suisse, Dexia, KBL and Greece’s Alpha Bank. Germany’s largest bank has announced [...]
ACCA Comment: Why post-crisis regulation has proved far from perfect May 14, 2014 Blunt tools must be replaced with more responsive solutions THERE is celebration in the air now that the UK has come out of recession strongly. However, is it too soon to get out the bunting? Yes, lessons have been learned from the financial crisis, and we are looking healthier as an economy. But there could [...]