Deloitte and EY partners push gender pay gaps wider March 7, 2018 Deloitte and EY today updated their gender pay gap data to include partners’ salaries for the first time, in figures which shed light on a bigger difference in earnings between men and women than previously thought. Both of the “Big Four” accountants have bigger gaps when partners’ earnings are factored in, reflecting the greater number [...]
Open banking is a test of trust for financial firms: What lenders face in their quest to win customers’ confidence March 5, 2018 Open banking, the new initiative threatening to tear up the banking rule book, has the power to revolutionise how people manage their money. For the first time, customers will be able to give companies other than their bank access to their financial data, opening retail and business banking to fresh competition and delivering more choice, [...]
Interserve share price hits new lows: But hits back by insisting refinancing has not “stumbled” and talks are proceeding on time | City A.M. February 25, 2018 Troubled support services giant Interserve has come out fighting, insisting crucial talks with banks have not “stumbled”. Interserve is trying to agree new financing terms with its syndicate of lenders after delivering a profit warning last September. In December Interserve agreed a £180m emergency financing package. The funds came after the outsourcer said in October [...]
Night Tube rollout: London Overground’s 24-hour service extends to north London on 23 February 2018 February 13, 2018 The Night Overground service is set to be extended to Canonbury and Highbury & Islington from Friday 23 February after coming to the London Overground in December. Since 15 December, there have been 24-hour services every Friday and Saturday between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate. Whitechapel is still to be included as it waits [...]
London house prices set to fall again this year as buyers struggle to save for a deposit February 8, 2018 London house prices look set to fall again this year as would-be homeowners struggle to save for a deposit. Chartered surveys expect house prices to fall in London over the next 12 months, according to a survey released this morning by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). Last year, Nationwide recorded a 0.5 per [...]
Bank of England set to hold rates on Super Thursday February 5, 2018 The Bank of England is set to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent on Thursday, but rate rises are forecast for later in the year. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will vote on the rate on so-called Super Thursday, when the bank will also release its quarterly inflation report and release the minutes [...]
The insurance industry needs to embrace blockchain, starting now January 31, 2018 In March 2017, the expression “financial inclusion” hit its peak popularity on Google. This is excellent news. There are over two billion unbanked individuals in the world today – people with no access to banking services. This is a global problem. In India, 19 per cent of the population – 1.2bn people – is unbanked, [...]
UK profit warnings soar to two-year high with support services firms hit the hardest January 28, 2018 The number of FTSE companies issuing profit warnings flew to a two-year high in the fourth quarter of 2017 as consumers were squeezed by cost pressures and contract uncertainties were exposed. UK-listed companies issued 81 profit warnings in the three months to December, the highest quarterly total since the fourth quarter of 2015, according to [...]
The Night Tube is coming to the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines – but only after 2023 January 26, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed plans to roll out Night Tube services to the Metropolitan, Circle, District and Hammersmith & City Lines once a major upgrade programme is complete in 2023. It also revealed it has spent over £2m in an effort to crack down on additional noise and disturbance from the Night Tube [...]
Carillion cost: The government is paying millions of pounds a day to keep public sector projects going January 23, 2018 Hundreds of Carillion’s public sector contracts are costing the government millions of pounds in temporary funding every day, according to official statistics. Carillion’s failure just over a week ago prompted the government to step in and use Treasury funds to ensure public sector works continued. The failed contractor held 450 contracts with the UK government, [...]