Off road: Is the car industry in reverse? January 14, 2019 The automotive industry faces recession and decline. Driverless cars are on the horizon, but has the moment for motors already passed? The first Model T Ford rolled off the production line in 1908. Available in “any colour… so long as it is black”, in the words of magnate Henry Ford, the car marked a breakthrough [...]
Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing expands into fintech as driver regulation rears its head January 2, 2019 Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing has expanded into financial services, as fresh domestic regulation threatened to put a dampener on its driver numbers. The firm has today launched a suite of financial products, including crowdfunded health insurance, wealth management and lending, all aimed at short-term workers on temporary contracts. The move comes after Didi announced a [...]
Own, loan, or Drover: How the subscription economy is shaking up the car industry December 7, 2018 Felix Leuschner looks far too young to have founded three successful businesses. This German-born entrepreneur was just 23 when he launched what became Europe’s largest marketplace for gaming goods, where players could trade virtual products. After selling that company just nine months later, he moved to London and started a fast-fashion website called Stylistpick, collaborating with [...]
Addison Lee launches self-driving taxi trials in Canary Wharf November 7, 2018 Private hire firm Addison Lee has begun trialling self-driving car technology, created by UK startup Oxbotica, on the streets of London. Driving around the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, Addison Lee's manned cars are creating a three-dimensional street map of the city in order to create the backdrop for future driverless cars. Organised together with Canary [...]
Insurer Hastings share price plunges after it warns of competitive market October 25, 2018 Investors slammed insurer Hastings this morning after it warned that a competitive market meant that it was likely to perform at the lower end of its announced range. Its share price crashed more than 16 per cent this morning. Having started the day on 216p it hit a low of 183p before recovering slightly to [...]
DEBATE: Should the government set guidelines on meat consumption to combat climate change? October 16, 2018 Should the government set guidelines on meat consumption to combat climate change? Ben Glover, a researcher at Demos, says YES. Last week, the UN’s IPCC warned that to avoid disastrous levels of climate change we must make “unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” – including cutting meat consumption. That’s because livestock counts for about [...]
FTSE roundup: Insurers dampened by heavy weather as Serco jumps on outsourcing woes September 28, 2018 The FTSE 100 ended the week 0.47 per cent down today, as a number of major insurers took heavy losses during trading on Friday. The index dropped 35.24 points to end the day at 7,510.20 RSA Insurance was the biggest loser on the stock market today, shedding 9.31 per cent after it told investors profits would be lower [...]
Saga’s voyage of recovery interrupted by declining profits September 27, 2018 Retirement insurance and travel firm Saga this morning said it was making strong progress on its recovery despite reporting declining underlying before-tax profit. Underlying profit at the firm dropped 3.7 per cent to £106.8m – which was due to Saga investing heavily in its business and marketing, chief exec Lance Batchelor told City A.M. The firm's [...]
How psychology explains why we make money mistakes and our attitude to financial risk September 26, 2018 Many of us don’t think that we’ll ever experience a financial shock, whether that’s the boiler breaking down, an unexpected bill, or having to take extended time off work due to sickness or injury. Despite this, the Financial Conduct Authority found that more than half of UK adults show one or more signs of [...]
AA profits fall into a pothole as roadside repair firm blames Beast from the East September 26, 2018 Bad weather sent AA profits crashing in the first half of 2018, the roadside recovery firm said today, sending its share price down over four per cent. The figures Pre-tax profits fell 64 per cent year on year to £28m, with revenue growing just two per cent to £480m, fuelled by the AA’s roadside [...]