Starmer to visit Gulf states as he strives to deepen trade ties December 7, 2024 Keir Starmer will strive to strengthen trade ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in his first trip to the Persian Gulf as prime minister. The PM will meet UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, after flying to the Gulf on Sunday [...]
Currys could reveal Black Friday boost or Budget hit in interim results December 7, 2024 Electronics retailer Currys will reveal how much impact the recent Budget is likely to have on its sales next week. Investors will hope the chain has carried on a recent financial recovery into the autumn when it announces its interim results on 12 December. The company is expected to post a profit of £137m for [...]
How two ex-consultants plan to revolutionise UK consumer credit December 3, 2024 As financial services consultants at EY, Gerald Chappell and Michelle He noticed a weak spot shared by some of the world’s biggest banks: affordable personal loans. Up against ageing data-sharing systems, bureaucratic decision-making and a lack of business motivation to enter a market easily written off as “risky”, they set out to provide finance to [...]
Starmer vows to put Ukraine ‘in strongest possible position for negotiations’ with Russia December 2, 2024 The Prime Minister will say that Ukraine must be put in the “strongest possible position for negotiations” with Russia, addressing the possibility of a negotiated settlement for the first time. Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, Sir Keir Starmer will tell attendees at the white tie Guildhall dinner that the eastern European nation must be [...]
UK needs to innovate at wartime pace, defence secretary says December 2, 2024 The UK needs “innovation at a wartime pace”, the defence secretary has said as he announced a new strategy for the industry. As he launched a defence industrial strategy, which is being developed alongside the government’s strategic defence review, John Healey said war game exercises to test the military’s capabilities will be carried out with [...]
Will our Christmas dinner guests soon be AI chatbots? December 2, 2024 Glad tidings of comfort and joy! Christmas has traditionally been a time for congregating with your fellow homo sapiens – but play nice over the turkey and sprouts this year: it could be one of the last where unmediated human interaction is still the norm. We’re about to enter a world in which AI bots [...]
9fin: Data start-up raises £40m for credit markets tech December 2, 2024 Financial data start-up 9fin has raised $50m (£39.3m) as it looks to grow a foothold in the market for debt and private capital research. The London-based fintech announced a Series B round led by growth capital investor Highland Europe. 9fin did not disclose at what valuation it had raised the money. It was reported a [...]
Impax profit drops as ESG-focused asset manager looks forward to Trump’s return November 28, 2024 ESG-focused Impax Asset Management has reported a fall in profit and continued outflows but said Donald Trump’s return to the White House could help its portfolios deliver “excellent returns”. The London-listed firm said on Thursday that its pretax profit came in at £49m for the year ending on 30 September, down six per cent from [...]
Shoppers warned to be wary of social media scams this Black Friday November 24, 2024 Fraud is set to reach an all-time high this Black Friday, with online social media scams the most likely place for fraud to occur, according to new data. UK shoppers are expected to spend £9.14bn over the four-day Black Friday weekend – a 4.5 per cent increase on last year, according to Globaldata. But fraud [...]
Why tech bros in the White House could be a good thing November 21, 2024 Elon Musk's appointment has certainly been divisive, but more tech expertise in government is only a good thing, writes Julia Adamson.