The five fintech segments to watch August 18, 2025 Global fintech funding slumped to its worst half-year in five years in the first six months of 2025. Investment reached $44bn (£32.47bn), falling from $54.2bn the year prior, whilst the number of deals fell from 2,376 to 2,216. Weak investment in the three months to June 31 2025, hurt the headline figures, with just $18.7bn [...]
Which brand is each Premier League club’s front-of-shirt sponsor? August 15, 2025 The Premier League is back and over half of the 20 teams are looking to make the most of one final season of gambling sponsorship. A total of 11 teams have front-of-shirt sponsorship deals with online betting, gambling and casino brands – which next year will be banned in the English top flight. Premier League [...]
Liquid assets: An introduction to fine wine investment August 15, 2025 Though overall global fine wine investment values are in decline, the UK market continues to grow. Over the last ten years around £570 million has been invested into British vineyards, but individuals are also increasingly investing in their own wine collections. Fine wine is now a mainstream asset for many high-net-worth investors, with 96 per [...]
Once bitten, twice inflated: The Bank of England’s rate cut conundrum August 14, 2025 After the MPC’s historic second vote on interest rates, is the Bank of England torn between fears of recession and inflation, asks Helen Thomas Seventeen years ago this month, the Bank of England produced its quarterly Inflation Reportas usual. In the 56 pages, the Bank’s forecasters laid out carefully crafted charts andanalysis of how growth [...]
Insurers urged to reassess Russian oil coverage amid UK and EU price cap changes August 14, 2025 An insurance association has urged its members to assess their exposure to Russian oil as the UK and EU prepare to update their oil price cap regimes
Training investment has dropped by £10.9bn since apprenticeship levy introduced August 14, 2025 Investment in training has dropped by £10.9bn since the apprenticeship levy was introduced in 2017, fresh analysis has shown, with calls growing for Labour to speed up its overhaul of skills programmes. In a new report by the Fabian Society, which is affiliated to the Labour Party, the government has been warned that the apprenticeship [...]
UK economy grows faster than expected in June August 14, 2025 The UK economy grew 0.4 per cent in June, official data has shown, in an unexpected turnaround following months of tariff and tax uncertainty. In the second quarter, GDP rose by 0.3 per cent after declining in both April and May. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK services sector, which makes up [...]
Admiral: Shares surge after FTSE 100 giant’s profit jumps August 14, 2025 Shares in insurance giant Admiral surged 5.5 per cent in early deals this morning after the group reported a significant jump in earnings for the first half of its financial year, thanks to its UK insurance arm and income from Admiral Money. The group reported a 69 per cent jump in profit before tax from [...]
Aviva’s profit soars ahead of merger with Direct Line August 14, 2025 Aviva posted a profit jump for the first half of the year after strong growth across its wealth and insurance divisions. The company’s operating profit climbed 22 per cent to just north of £1bn – topping the £875m netted in the first half of 2024. This comes after Aviva completed its £3.7bn takeover of rival [...]
Good A-levels are no guarantee in Labour’s abysmal jobs market August 14, 2025 As teenagers open their A-Level results, Andrew Griffith laments a job market that is punishing today's young people.