London drivers pay £70m in Ulez charges February 20, 2020 London’s drivers have been hit by £70.4m in charges and fines in the eight months since the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) charge was introduced in the capital. The data, which was obtained through a FOI request from car insurance provider By Miles, has revealed that drivers have paid out £48.9m in charges and £21.5m in [...]
HSBC courts the globally mobile with new $1.4 trillion wealth business February 20, 2020 Banking giant HSBC plans to invest heavily in its newly merged retail and private banking businesses, the unit’s chief executive has said, targeting internationally minded customers in markets including China and the US. Charlie Nunn, a former McKinsey consultant, took control of the new division, which has $1.4 trillion (£1.1 trillion) of client assets, following [...]
Moneysupermarket profit grows as CEO steps down February 20, 2020 Price comparison site Moneysupermarket has reported strong profit growth for 2019 despite slower growth in the second half of the year. The figures Profit before tax rose to £116m, an 8.5 per cent increase on 2018’s figure. Group revenue climbed nine per cent from £355.6m in 2018 to £388.4m while basic earnings per share increased [...]
PPI, profit drop, and a mixed 2020: Five takeaways from Lloyds’ results February 20, 2020 Lloyds reported a 26 per cent drop in annual profit on Thursday, with Britain’s largest domestic lender hit by a rise in bad debts and billions of pounds of customer compensation payout. Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said the results demonstrated a “solid financial performance in a challenging external market”, but analysts have described them as [...]
Lloyds’ 2019 profit sinks after £2.45bn PPI charge February 20, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group revealed its 2019 profit sank 26 per cent today as it said it must pay out £2.45bn to settle payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. The figures Lloyds recorded profit before tax of £4.39bn, down 26 per cent on 2018, after the £2.45bn PPI charge. Underlying profit slipped seven per cent to £7.5bn [...]
Willie Mullins stable tour: Hoping Chacun Pour Soi delivers elusive Champion Chase February 19, 2020 IF YOU were to ask any trainer the races they’d most like to win, the Queen Mother Champion Chase would be very high up on the list. Though Willie Mullins is the winning-most Cheltenham Festival trainer of all time, Wednesday’s feature race has eluded the Irish supremo thus far. Speaking at his Closutton stables in [...]
Follow the yellow brick road: the investment case for gold February 19, 2020 Investing can often feel like a rollercoaster, with the value of stock investments rising and falling sharply based on breaking news and geopolitical events. Certainly, the last few months may have felt bumpy. From the build-up to the UK General Election in December, to the tit-for-tat missile volleys between the US and Iran, to the outbreak [...]
DEBATE: Should the new chancellor suspend the IR35 tax regulation changes? February 18, 2020 Should the new chancellor suspend the IR35 tax regulation changes? Alasdair Hutchison, policy development manager at IPSE, says YES. We should be building a vibrant and competitive economy after Brexit, not making it harder to do business or under-mining our flexible labour market, one of the UK’s main competitive advantages. Businesses are simply not prepared [...]
IR35: Business groups urge Rishi Sunak to suspend rollout February 17, 2020 Employment groups have urged the new chancellor Rishi Sunak to suspend the IR35 new tax regulations for self-employed workers or risk damaging the economy. According to industry bodies, the changes, which are due to come into effect in April, will lead to a third of self-employed contractors stopping freelancing over non-compliance fears. Andy Chamberlain, deputy [...]
Seven reasons why London will thrive regardless of Brexit February 17, 2020 In the three-and-a-half years since the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU) much has been written about how London’s status as a global leader in financial services could be weakened. However, with a diverse economy, highly skilled workforce, wide tourist demand, world-class universities and cultural appeal, London will not only survive Brexit, but [...]