Autotech M&A deal value falls to five-year low in second half of 2018 February 20, 2019 Merger and acquisition value in the automotive technology sector hit a five year low in the second half of 2018 as car manufacturers struggled with dwindling demand in China and a global crackdown on emissions. A total of 100 M&A deals were completed in the second half of last year, including Renault, Ford and Volkswagen’s [...]
Watchdog gives insurance brokers clean bill of health on competition worries February 20, 2019 Regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today said it had not found evidence of significant levels of harm in its probe into insurance brokers, meaning that “intrusive remedies” will not be necessary. The FCA launched its analysis of the wholesale insurance brokers market in November 2017 to assess how competition was working in the sector. It said that [...]
UK bags Europe’s M&A top spot with $247bn of deals in 2018 as TMT mergers grow February 19, 2019 The UK enjoyed the highest value of M&A deals in Europe last year as telecoms and media takeovers spiked. High value purchases like Comcast’s $39bn purchase of Sky pushed mergers involving UK companies to $247bn in 2018, data compiled by law firm Clifford Chance found. Read more: Watchdog delays final report on Sainsbury's-Asda merger Both domestic and [...]
Swiss Re completes 1bn Swiss franc share buyback ahead of financial results this week February 18, 2019 Swiss Re said today it had completed a 1bn Swiss franc (£771m) share buyback programme, ahead of announcing its 2018 financials this week. The Zurich-based insurer said it had bought 11.2m shares, equivalent to 3.21 per cent of its outstanding shares, at an average price of 89.17 frances per share. Read more: German insurance giant [...]
HSBC sued for £150m in relation to Disney tax avoidance scheme February 18, 2019 HSBC Private Bank is being sued for £150m by over 400 investors in connection with a film financing scheme that purported to invest money in Disney blockbusters for tax benefits. Investors, including ex-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-England managers Sven-Goran Eriksson and Glenn Hoddle, lost out after tax authorities ruled that the film [...]
A brave new driverless future? Let’s separate fact from fiction February 18, 2019 You can’t browse the internet without seeing a sensational headlines announcing the imminent ascendency of the driverless car. “Fully driverless cars could run on UK roads by end of year”, “Britain’s driverless revolution will be a car crash as safety rules are recklessly scrapped” and “Driverless Car! It’s about to happen on UK roads” – to [...]
German insurance giant Allianz unveils record €11.5bn profit February 15, 2019 German insurer Allianz said today that its operating profit for 2018 was €11.5bn (£10.1bn), the highest in its history. Allianz had targeted operating profit of €10.6bn to €11.6bn so its result was in the upper end of its targeted range. Read more: Insurer Zurich boosts profit 20 per cent and hikes dividend The company attributed operating [...]
Mark Kleinman: Aviva’s missed deadline ensures brickbats February 15, 2019 Viva Aviva? For such a stalwart of blue-chip boardrooms, Sir Adrian Montague suddenly can’t put a foot right. Four years after taking over the chairmanship of Aviva when John McFarlane scuttled off to Barclays, he’s ended up in a rather large pickle of his own making. Sacking Mark Wilson as the insurer’s chief executive last [...]
Financial services sector must prepare as tech giants set to shake up the industry, FSB warns February 14, 2019 The financial services sector must prepare for both the benefits and risks of tech giants shaking up the industry, the global finance regulator has warned. The Financial Stability Board said that tech giants, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, were muscling into the financial services sector and predicted that expansion to continue. Read more: [...]
Meet the banker-turned-restaurateur bringing the City’s dining scene to life February 14, 2019 Whatever happened to the liquid lunch? It is a question often asked with nostalgia throughout the Square Mile. Traders in pubs, City executives in boardrooms, journalists and lawyers in wine bars; the sight and smell of booze at noon was at one point in time as much a part of the City’s identity as pin-stripes [...]