German digital bank N26 backed by Tencent and Peter Thiel launches in the UK October 4, 2018 A German digital bank backed by Tencent, Li Ka-shing and Peter Thiel will launch in the UK today with the aim of taking on the big high street banks and adding to the fierce competition among British app-only banks. N26, which already counts 1.5m customers across 17 European countries, has started rolling out its banking [...]
The Green Room review: Find out what corporate hospitality means at the Kia Oval before you fork out to impress clients October 3, 2018 The last time I sat in a corporate box, it was miserable. A relative who worked for a bank had been offered tickets to a Muse gig at Wembley Stadium and invited me along as box meat to fill the space. At the time, I was a fan of the Devonshire space rockers, but I [...]
Pepsico marketing push sends beverage sales fizzing in key North American market October 2, 2018 Pepsico beat analysts’ expectations as net income grew 16 per cent year-on-on year to $2.5bn (£1.9bn) in the company’s third quarter. Its fortunes were spurred by 2.5 per cent organic growth in the company's North American beverages division, after outgoing chief executive Indra Nooyi refused to countenance a spin-off of the business in her time in charge. [...]
A third of non-investors say they would consider ethical investment funds October 2, 2018 A third of non-investors would consider putting their money into ethical funds, according to a new survey. More than half of Brits said they prefer to use ethical financial products and 64 per cent of those said they were prepared to pay extra for socially conscious services, research by online investment service Wealthify said. Read more: UBS launches [...]
Prudential appoints Just Eat chair ahead of demerger October 1, 2018 The UK's largest listed insurer Prudential has hired Just Eat chairman Mike Evans ahead of the demerger of its life insurance and asset management unit, M&G Prudential. Evans brings more than 36 years of experience in the savings and investments sector to the role, having previously worked as chairman of stockbroker and financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown and chief executive of Skandia. He will [...]
Senior Barclays adviser elected as 691st Lord Mayor of the City October 1, 2018 Senior adviser to Barclays, Peter Estlin, has been elected as the 691st Lord of Mayor of the City of London. Estlin, who will take a sabbatical from his role with the bank, will succeed Charles Bowman on 9 November for a one-year term. The elected head of the City of London Corporation will act as [...]
Firms risk being left behind in Libor benchmark transition warn bankers October 1, 2018 A lack of awareness of the urgent need to transition away from scandal-hit Libor interest rates means some firms risk not being ready before the benchmarks become defunct, according to a top banker working on the issue. There remains a significant amount of work to educate firms about the far-reaching implications of the shift from [...]
City leaders sound alarm over risk of no-deal Brexit ‘cliff-edge’ September 30, 2018 City leaders have issued an urgent plea as Conservative conference gets underway, calling on the government to embrace a special deal for EU migration and avoid veering off a “Brexit cliff-edge” over compliance issues. The majority of business leaders said a non-deal Brexit would have a negative effect on their businesses, with over a third [...]
Not feeling capital: Debenhams faces growing cash reserve woes as credit insurer scraps cover to suppliers September 30, 2018 Embattled department store chain Debenhams suffered a fresh blow today as one of its leading credit insurers turned off the tap for cover provided to the retailer’s suppliers. Insurance provider Atradius is pulling its entire credit cover for Debenhams’ suppliers, amid fears about the future of the historic retail giant in the run-up to Christmas. [...]
FTSE roundup: Insurers dampened by heavy weather as Serco jumps on outsourcing woes September 28, 2018 The FTSE 100 ended the week 0.47 per cent down today, as a number of major insurers took heavy losses during trading on Friday. The index dropped 35.24 points to end the day at 7,510.20 RSA Insurance was the biggest loser on the stock market today, shedding 9.31 per cent after it told investors profits would be lower [...]