Andy Burnham to run for Manchester mayor May 18, 2016 Labour's shadow home secretary Andy Burnham is to enter the race for the Greater Manchester mayoralty. Burnham failed in his bid to become Labour leader after the 2015 election, and has previously expressed an interest in running for the same role in Manchester: today a spokesman confirmed that he would seek the nomination. An official statement is [...]
Google’s Apple Pay rival Android Pay is finally here in the UK May 18, 2016 Good news for anyone eager to pay using just the swipe of their mobile, but who doesn't own an iPhone. Google's Android Pay is launching in the UK today, bringing the tap and pay technology to millions of smartphone users across the country. A rival to Apple Pay which launched last year, the app lets users pay by [...]
ECB chief economist Peter Praet warns of banking “profitability shock” May 17, 2016 Eurozone banks should brace themselves for a profitability crisis, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB) has warned today, predicting that the worst is far from over for the industry. "We have in the sector a severe profitability shock," ECB executive board member Peter Praet told a panel in Brussels this morning. Banks in the [...]
Profits at UK firms are at their lowest level since before the financial crisis May 16, 2016 Profits at the UK’s largest companies slumped to their lowest level in a decade in 2015, with turmoil in the banking and commodities industries weighing heavily on corporate performance. New analysis from the Share Centre, released today, shows that the FTSE 350 – the UK’s largest 350 listed companies – posted combined pre-tax profits of £84bn last [...]
Lloyds Bank leads the London financial sector in British LGBT Awards May 15, 2016 Bravo to bankers at Lloyds – the firm has been crowned the top employer for promoting diversity in this year's LGBT Awards. Lloyds Banking Group, which has a professional LGBT Network of over 3000, was named LGBT Network Group of the Year. The bank saw off stiff competition from the likes of Tesco and PwC. Dubbed [...]
City Moves for 11 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 11, 2016 RateSetter Marketplace lender RateSetter has announced the appointment of Cyrille Salle de Chou as chief risk officer. Cyrill joins from Lloyds Banking Group and brings extensive experience. He started his risk career at Capital One, where he became chief credit officer for Europe responsible for card and personal loan credit. In 2007, he joined Lloyds [...]
Six of the best challenger banks: Disgruntled with HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Barclays? We highlight the cream of the alternatives May 11, 2016 The big four high street banks – that’s Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and RBS – have had their fair share of scandal over the years and many people have been left disgruntled with the service they’ve received. There’s been a lot of inertia in banking, with few people willing to move their main account. Nearly 60 per [...]
Is Aim about to get a new Joules in its crown? Fashion retail unveils plans for £140m IPO May 3, 2016 Joules has announced plans to bring its colourful wellies and country-style clothes to London's junior market with a £140m listing. The fashion and lifestyle retailer said the initial public offering will take place in the second quarter of the year, with its founder Tom Joule expected to sell down his 80 per cent stake to less than 50 [...]
UK house prices: Bank of mum and dad ranks among UK’s top mortgage lenders as parents spend £5bn helping children onto property ladder May 3, 2016 Parents will lend over £5bn this year helping their children get a leg up onto the UK's slippery housing ladder, placing the "bank of mum and dad" firmly in the ranks of the top 10 mortgage lenders in the country, a new report today reveals. The study – by FTSE 100 insurer Legal & General and Cebr, [...]
The five best train journeys in the world April 29, 2016 Train travel affords a vision of the world that seems so much more interesting than road journeys; somehow you hardly ever see anything interesting from a motorway. As John Betjeman said, “you need never be bored in a train”. Train travel is liberating in the time it affords for oneself – to read, write, think, [...]