Royal London to appoint Standard Life Aberdeen board member Kevin Parry as chairman December 10, 2018 Royal London will appoint Standard Life Aberdeen board member Kevin Parry as its chairman this week. The company is set to announce that Parry will replace former Bank of England deputy governor Rupert Pennant-Rea, who has been in the role for five years, Sky News reported. The appointment will see Parry step down from his role [...]
Just Group soars on favourable new Bank capital rules December 10, 2018 Shares in pensions provider Just Group rose as much as 27 per cent this morning, following the release of the Bank of England’s final decision on equity release mortgages (ERMs), which the company welcomed as offering “greater clarity” for its future operations. Both Just and Barclays analysts said new rules released by the Bank’s Prudential [...]
Own, loan, or Drover: How the subscription economy is shaking up the car industry December 7, 2018 Felix Leuschner looks far too young to have founded three successful businesses. This German-born entrepreneur was just 23 when he launched what became Europe’s largest marketplace for gaming goods, where players could trade virtual products. After selling that company just nine months later, he moved to London and started a fast-fashion website called Stylistpick, collaborating with [...]
Debate: Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? December 7, 2018 Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? Yes – Jordan Marshall is policy development manager at IPSE. SMEs represent 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses. Included in this figure are 4.8m self-employed people – the UK’s smallest enterprises. A report from MPs this week exposed the shoddy practices of [...]
Michael Spencer buys $52m controlling stake in life insurance startup Singapore Life December 6, 2018 Veteran investor Michael Spencer is to invest $52.7m (£41.3m) in insurance startup Singapore Life, in a deal that gives him command over the company. Spencer’s investment company IPGL has acquired a 33.8 per cent stake in the startup from Chong Sing Holdings, a Hong Kong-based financial group, bringing his total stake to 63.2 per cent. The [...]
Plenty for Just Eat to chew on as it falls out of FTSE 100 to be replaced by engineering firm Spirax-Sarco December 6, 2018 Just Eat shares were down five per cent this morning as the company took stock from being demoted from the FTSE 100 yesterday. The food delivery company, which has come under siege in recent years from competitors Deliveroo and Uber Eats, dropped out of the top tier index as FTSE Russell announced the winners and [...]
Artemis US equities: Late-cycle investing … December 6, 2018 Cormac Weldon, manager of the Artemis US Select Fund and the Artemis US Smaller Companies Fund, analyses the reasons for increased volatility in the US market and explains why he is currently favouring companies with stable, predictable earnings. Context is everything. Two of the factors behind the recent increase in market volatility and the significant [...]
Beazley takes $40m hit from worst wildfires in California history December 6, 2018 The deadly wildfires which ripped across California this year burnt a $40m (£31.5m) hole in insurer Beazley’s pockets. The payouts from reinsurance hit the company’s bottom line after fires damaged several settlements and killed dozens in the US’s most populous state. It also faces challenges from difficult markets. “Investment markets continue to be volatile and [...]
We have paved the way for the next financial crisis December 6, 2018 Optimists believe that the last decade of roiling financial crisis and austerity is behind us, and that current fears of trade war, Brexit, populism, and market crashes are overblown. They hope for a global economy poised for many years of growth, increasing personal wealth and prosperity, and political stability. Sadly, hope is never a strategy. Realists, [...]
How businesses are busy hedging Brexit risk December 6, 2018 Philippos Kassimatis explains some of the hedging strategies on offer as businesses prepare for March 2019 It was was only last week that Mark Carney said fewer than half the UK’s businesses have initiated contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit, causing alarm throughout Britain’s business and investment community. Looking at the headlines, there is a [...]