Six things we learned from Warren Buffett after Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting: From AI and driverless cars to what happens if the sage of Omaha dies May 7, 2017 The sage of Omaha Warren Buffett took to the stage at the Berkshire Hathaway annual general meeting along with right hand man Charlie Munger. And the ever straight talking star investor did exactly that, discussing how he missed out on some of the biggest tech bets in recent years and what happens when he’s no [...]
Driverless cars will leave a big dent in the insurance industry according to the Bank of England March 17, 2017 The adoption of driverless cars will leave a massive dent in the car insurance market, according to the Bank of England, forcing insurers to team up with car firms as they transform their business. Economists at the Bank say their central forecast is for the UK motor insurance market to contract by 21 per cent [...]
Don’t panic – but remember Brexit will be a tough political process March 15, 2017 Everyone benefits from free trade. For years now the UK has had a persistently large trade deficit with the EU, which by rights should make Europe more amenable to doing a “business as usual” Brexit deal with us. If only life were so logical our Brexit negotiations would run smoothly and full future access would [...]
LV= mulls merger or disposals as its profit takes a hit from capital rules March 14, 2017 One of the largest financial services mutuals in the UK has held secret talks over a potential merger with Royal London. LV=, which has nearly 6m UK customers across insurance, pensions and income protection products, has now called off the talks as the firms couldn’t agree on the structure of a deal, reported Mark Kleinman, [...]
Innovation never stops: What’s next for the tech startups in Bird & Bird’s Digital Innovators showcase pushing boundaries? March 14, 2017 When Bird & Bird and City A.M. sought to unearth, and then celebrate, the most innovative digital companies shaking up the worlds of finance, health, education, media and security, we knew the collective 20 companies we found were an outstanding demonstration of the UK’s leadership in cutting edge technology. Now, just four months on, the visionary founders [...]
UK motor industry shifts down a gear as inflationary sentiments creep in March 14, 2017 Britons are expected to put the brakes on their spending for new cars in 2017 as inflation bites, new data by consumer research company GfK finds. In research out today, it forecasts that car sales will slide by 5 per cent this year, following last year’s record. Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, [...]
Budget 2017: Winners and losers of Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget March 8, 2017 Today, chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his first (and last) Spring Budget. Here are the day's winners and losers. Read more: Budget 2017: Philip Hammond's speech in full Winners Tech got quite the showing in Hammond's Budget. The chancellor pledged millions of pounds of fresh funding for disruptive new technologies like robotics, electric cars and biotech along with plans to [...]
Budget 2017: No further increases in insurance premium tax scheduled, though rise in June will go ahead March 8, 2017 Insurance premium tax will rise from 10 to 12 per cent in June, as previously announced in the Autumn Statement, but chancellor Philip Hammond broke the trend of successive hikes with no further increases announced in today's budget. Three successive hikes in IPT have taken the rate levied on insurance products from six per cent [...]
Spring Budget 2017 at-a-glance guide: All of chancellor Philip Hammond’s big announcements you need to know March 8, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has delivered his first (and last, thanks to a shift around in dates) spring Budget speech. But, as not everybody has the time to go back and listen to his words of wisdom in full, here's an at-a-glance breakdown of the biggest announcements you need to know: Economics, public spending and politics [...]
Admiral boss doesn’t pull any punches after revealing discount rate cut will cost £150m March 8, 2017 Insurance firm Admiral lamented the government's decision to slash a key reference rate for calculating personal injury claims, which it said would ultimately cost the firm £150m. Annual profits for 2016 reduced by £106m, with the balance to be taken in following years. This prompted boss David Stevens, who is in his first full year at the [...]