FTSE 100 recovers from two-year lows as ‘Santa rout’ hits US markets December 21, 2018 The FTSE closed slightly up at 6,721 points after recovering from a slide caused by a “Santa rout” on Wall Street and Donald Trump threatening a US government shutdown. The blue chip index plunged to a fresh two-year low of 6,653 as President Donald Trump threatened a “very long” government shutdown over funding for his border wall. [...]
Grounded: Gatwick airport remains shut down as Army brought in to deal with drone crisis December 20, 2018 The Army has been deployed to assist with the ongoing crisis at Gatwick airport, which has seen flights grounded since Wednesday because of drones flying near the runway. Drones which have grounded all flights at Gatwick Airport are “highly targeted” and have been “designed to close the airport and bring maximum disruption in the run up [...]
Lloyd’s of London prepares for Brexit with new European team December 20, 2018 Lloyd’s of London has appointed a team to head up its Brussels hub as the insurance giant seeks to insure itself against Brexit. Sonja Rottiers takes over as chief executive of newly formed Lloyd’s Brussels. She will be joined on the board by new chairman Michel Flamée, a former board member of the National Bank of [...]
EU ‘no deal’ prep means City avoids cliff-edge fears December 19, 2018 The EU has stepped up its “essential and urgent” contingency plans in the event of a no-deal Brexit and offered long-awaited clarity to the financial services sector over clearing. The European Commission has started to implement its no-deal preparations given the “continued uncertainty” surrounding a Theresa May’s effort to get a Brexit deal through parliament, [...]
UK watchdog calls for new powers on tackling £4bn ‘loyalty penalty’ after super-complaint December 19, 2018 The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has said it will seek new powers to fight the so-called loyalty penalty faced by consumers across multiple industries, including insurance, mobile phones, broadband, savings accounts and mortgages. The challenge comes off the back of a super-complaint made by consumer body Citizens Advice in September, a practice designed to end [...]
Theresa May’s #My100Days challenge: Prioritise business post-Brexit December 19, 2018 Earlier this year, I heard about a new Twitter initiative, known as the #My100Days challenge. The campaign encouraged everyone to think about what they could accomplish over the course of 100 days. Commitments ranged from spending more time with family and friends to getting involved in volunteering projects. With exactly this length of time left [...]
Fires and explosions cause largest value losses for businesses and insurers globally December 13, 2018 Fires and explosion are the cause of the largest claims for insurers and the businesses they cover. Analysis of over 470,000 global insurance claims from 2013 to 2018 with a value of €58bn (£52bn) by insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty shows the largest financial losses come from fires and explosions. Over the past five [...]
Legal & General hires bankers to sell its general insurance business December 12, 2018 Legal & General has appointed an investment bank to sell its general insurance arm. According to Sky News, L&G has hired Fenchurch Advisory Partners to sell the business in a deal that could be valued at more than £300m. L&G previously tried to dispose of its general insurance arm three years ago, but that attempt [...]
UK fintech startup Weswap pulls the plug on 2018 London IPO plans December 11, 2018 Peer-to-peer currency exchange platform Weswap has scrapped plans to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) this month, after investor interest fell flat. Sources told City A.M. that the initial public offering, which had been mooted for a December launch, had failed to garner sufficient attention in what was promised to be a relatively small [...]
Royal London chief executive to step down by the end of 2019 December 11, 2018 Life insurer Royal London’s chief executive Phil Loney is set to step down by the end of 2019, the company said today. Loney is standing down to concentrate on charity work in the international development sector and helping people with learning difficulties. He joined the insurance and pensions mutual in 2011 during which time it [...]