Electric scooter company Bird launches trial at the Olympic Park in a bid to change regulations November 6, 2018 US electric scooter sharing company Bird has launched a trial of its service today at the Olympic Park in east London. The use of electric scooters has boomed in the US and has begun to take off in Europe with cities such as Paris allowing their introduction. However, they are currently not legally allowed to [...]
Work should pay – for both high and low earners November 6, 2018 In a tense standoff with Labour MP Wes Streeting last night, chancellor Philip Hammond defended his decision to reduce the burden of income tax in the autumn Budget. The argument, played out in front of the Treasury Select Committee, was classic Tory v Labour fare. Streeting demanded to know why Hammond was cutting taxes instead of [...]
The Co-op could offload its insurance arm in a £300m deal November 5, 2018 The Co-op Group is reportedly in talks to sell its insurance business to underwriter Markerstudy Group in what would be a £300m deal. According to Sky News the talks between the two companies are at an advanced stage, though no decision has been taken be either side on whether to proceed with the deal. Sky [...]
Hiscox premiums grow but insurer predicts slower end to the year November 5, 2018 Global insurer Hiscox increased written premiums in the third quarter but warned growth could slow towards the end of the year. The figures Gross written premiums, for the nine months to September was $3.04bn (£2.34bn), a 14 per cent increase on the same period in 2017. The company's investment returns was $44m, down from $83m [...]
US imposes ‘toughest ever’ sanctions on Iran hitting key oil sector November 5, 2018 The US has imposed its “toughest ever” round of sanctions on Iran hitting the nation's key oil export sector. Major parts of the Iranian economy including oil exports, shipping and banking will be affected, as President Donald Trump reintroduces sanctions that were scrapped under the Iran nuclear deal. Crowds gathered in Tehran yesterday evening with [...]
Leave tycoon Arron Banks insists there is ‘no Russian money’ in Brexit campaign donations November 4, 2018 British millionaire and political donor Arron Banks has insisted there was "no Russian money" in the donations received by his controversial campaigns to leave the EU. Banks, a prominent Brexiter, was referred to the National Crime Agency (NCA) on Thursday by the Electoral Commission which said it had found evidence of "multiple suspected offences" committed during the [...]
Insurance turnaround helps double profit at Berkshire Hathaway November 3, 2018 Warren Buffet’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reported a sharp rise in profit this afternoon, as tax cuts and stronger insurance results boosted earnings. Operating profit in the third quarter of the year climbed to $6.88bn (£5.3bn), marking a steep rise from $3.44bn in the previous year and higher than the Wall Street estimates of $6.11bn. The [...]
Compare the Market ‘broke the law’ with insurance pricing clause November 2, 2018 Households could have lost money due to a Compare the Market clause that prevented home insurers from listing lower prices on rival comparison websites. Compare the Market’s so-called most favoured nation contract clauses stopped home insurers from beating prices listed on Compare the Market elsewhere, in a bid to stop rivals winning home insurance customers. [...]
Insurer Lancashire pays special dividend despite catastrophe losses November 1, 2018 Insurer Lancashire is returning $40m (£31m) to shareholders via a $0.20 per share special dividend despite recording a third quarter loss, it said today. Lancashire warned last month that it could be hit by catastrophe losses of $25m to $45m from recent hurricanes and typhoons. This led to a negative return on equity (ROE) of [...]
UK manufacturing orders fall for first time since aftermath of Brexit referendum and growth slows November 1, 2018 New orders and employment in the UK manufacturing sector have dropped for the first time since July 2016 in a “worrying turnaround” in October. Conditions in the sector “slowed sharply” as output growth weakened and new order inflows and employment declined for the first time since the aftermath of the EU referendum, according to the [...]