Marketing trends 2019: Interactive content and voice search are in, annoying chatbots are out September 28, 2019 Marketing is an industry undergoing seismic changes. New technology, changing consumer attitudes and shrinking budgets mean marketers are constantly having to adapt. But while many large advertisers have tightened the purse strings, marketing remains a key way for businesses to drive growth. A recent report by marketing consultancy Lewis, which looked at the world’s 300 [...]
IFS: Johnson’s tax cut pledges will cost billions September 27, 2019 A bonanza of tax cuts promised by Boris Johnson will cost billions of pounds, an influential research group has warned. The Prime Minister’s pledge to raise the threshold of National Insurance contributions (NIC) and higher-rate income tax has come under damning criticism from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which said this morning that the [...]
Small businesses need ‘meaningful financial assistance’ to prepare for no-deal Brexit, FSB warns September 27, 2019 The government should provide “meaningful financial assistance” to small firms to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has said. The FSB surveyed over 1,062 small firms to assess how prepared they are for the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October, finding that 39 per cent of [...]
Rothesay Life and Telent agree UK’s biggest ever pension transfer deal September 26, 2019 Insurer Rothesay Life and telecoms firm Telent have agreed a £4.7bn pension transfer deal – the largest ever made in the UK – covering the pensions of 39,000 people. Companies are increasingly keen to offload pension liabilities to insurers, in deals known as buy-ins and buy-outs. The mammoth Rothesay deal smashed the record set in [...]
17,000 more Thomas Cook passengers flown back to UK September 26, 2019 Around 17,000 people were flown home on specially chartered planes yesterday three days after they were left stranded by the failure of Thomas Cook. The Civil Aviation Authority said it managed to bring back 95 per cent of all customers whose Thomas Cook flights were scheduled on the day. It flew 71 different flights. Read [...]
Wealth manager Moneyfarm raises £36m in funding round led by Poste Italiane September 26, 2019 Digital wealth manager Moneyfarm has raised £36m in a series C funding round led by Poste Italiane, and has launched a strategic partnership with the Italian postal and financial services firm. The partnership will integrate Moneyfarm’s services with Poste Italiane’s digital platform. The Italian company currently manages over €514 billion across its financial and insurance [...]
City Moves for 26 September – Who’s switching jobs at Aldermore, TORI Global and FDM Group? September 26, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Aldermore, TORI Global and FDM Group. Aldermore Claire Cordell has been appointed chief financial officer (CFO) and an executive director of specialist bank Aldermore. Claire joined Aldermore in 2014 having oreviously held senior finance roles at RSA Insurance and Credit Suisse, and currently works as the company’s director of finance. Claire [...]
Thomas Cook: UK will try to recoup £100m repatriation bill from companies September 25, 2019 The government will go to credit and debit card companies as well as travel insurers for money in the coming weeks, in a bid to recoup the cost of repatriating tens of thousands of stranded Thomas Cook customers after the firm went bust on Monday. Giving an update in the Commons, transport secretary Grant Schapps [...]
DEBATE: Was the collapse of Thomas Cook inevitable? September 24, 2019 Was the collapse of Thomas Cook inevitable? Julian Jessop, economics fellow at the Institute for Economic Affairs, says YES. It is sad to see the collapse of the world’s oldest travel firm, but badly run companies must be allowed to fail. There was some bad luck here, including unrest in Turkey, European heat waves, and [...]
In a world of data and digitisation, the City continues to hold the winning cards September 24, 2019 At a time when the spotlight is on London’s future as a global hub for finance, new data showing that the capital has extended its lead in global FX and interest rate derivatives trading since 2016 was a clear vote of confidence in the City. This was backed up by the latest Global Financial Centres [...]