Dividends scale to new heights as companies shake off pandemic hangover November 15, 2021 Companies are rewarding shareholders with record levels of dividends as corporate balance sheets shake off the hangover of the Covid-19 crisis. Firms paid shareholders $403.5bn in dividends in the third quarter of the year, the highest total ever recorded for the three months to September, research by Janus Henderson has found. Dividends are 22 per [...]
UK business sentiment hits 12-month low amid supply chain and inflation woes November 15, 2021 British business sentiment dropped to its lowest level in a year in October, dragged down by fears of looming inflation and supply chain pressures that could undermine a sustained recovery from Covid disruption. Inflation expectations among UK business leaders surge to a record high last month, with 66 per cent expecting non-staff costs to increase [...]
Labour claims Sunak will not have the ‘fiscal headroom’ to cut taxes before next election November 14, 2021 New UK growth forecasts from the Bank of England show that Rishi Sunak will not have the “fiscal headroom” to cut taxes before the next election, according to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves. The central bank now forecasts the UK economy will grow by 1.5 and 1 per cent in 2023 and 2024 respectively, compared to [...]
UK government set to launch national security probe into Nvidia’s $54bn takeover of ARM November 14, 2021 Ministers are lining up a full-blown national security investigation into Nvidia’s planned $54bn takeover of British chip designer ARM, after months of negotiations between regulators and the US chip company. The investigation is likely to be announced on Tuesday week, after digital and culture secretary Nadine Dorries orders a “phase 2” probe into Nvidia’s acquisition [...]
Vincent Keaveny sworn in as City of London’s 639rd Lord Mayor November 13, 2021 Vincent Keaveny has been sworn in as the 693rd Lord Mayor of the City of London, serving as the elected head of the City of London Corporation and a global ambassador for the UK-based financial and professional services industry until November 2022. Keaveny, 56, and his wife Amanda have taken up residence in the Mansion [...]
Exclusive: Half of all Brits no longer trust tech giants with their personal data November 12, 2021 Nearly half of Britons no longer trust Big Tech companies to safeguard their personal data, according to new research that was shared exclusively with City A.M. today. Only one in four Brits believe Big Tech firms have their best interests at heart, according to a survey by cloud solution provider NexGen Cloud. This comes amid reports that [...]
Labour calls for Deloitte to be sacked from Test and Trace inquiry role November 12, 2021 The Labour party has called for audit giant Deloitte to be stripped of its contract to prepare NHS Test and Trace for a government inquiry into the handling of the pandemic, accusing it of a “blatant conflict of interest”. Since the onset of the pandemic, Deloitte has won contracts advising the NHS Test and Trace [...]
Luxury group Richemont in talks with Farfetch to shed stake in lossmaking Net-a-Porter November 12, 2021 Swiss luxury goods group Richemont is in “advanced talks” with the UK’s Farfetch over a deal to sell on its minority stake in the lossmaking Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) online luxury retailer. It’s a move that is likely to butter up investors that have long been critical of its stake in YNAP, which has lost its [...]
Bequant brings in Hauduc as new General Counsel November 12, 2021 Digital asset brokerage and exchange Bequant has hired Huong Hauduc as General Counsel.
Universities pay vice-chancellors more than £500,000 as generous packages include bonuses and benefits November 12, 2021 Three universities in England paid their vice-chancellors £500,000 or more in salary, bonuses and benefits last year, figures show. Data from the Office for Students (OfS) shows that 1.8% of university staff received a basic salary of £100,000 or more in the academic year 2019/20 – up slightly from 1.7% in 2018/19. But the proportion [...]