LSE’s chairman bruiser Donald Brydon bruised but unbowed, another corporate Saga and N+1 Singer’s silence December 15, 2017 There are few more obvious boardroom caricatures than that of the trigger-happy chairman, so it hasn’t been difficult to cast Donald Brydon in the role of executive assassin. Next week, the effort to oust him from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) will reach its damp squib of a denouement. To Sir Christopher Hohn, boss [...]
Corbyn doesn’t want to replicate the City’s success – he wants to destroy it December 14, 2017 London is unique as a global centre. These words are spoken so often, both within the City and outside of it, that they have become a cliche. But no other world-leading nation has its political capital, its financial centre, and its cultural heart all in the same city. The sectors feed and support one another, [...]
London startup Pace has raised £2.5m to help hotels boost revenues using artificial intelligence December 14, 2017 A London startup using artificial intelligence to help boost revenues for hotels has raised several million pounds of cash from early-stage investors. Seedcamp, SpeedInvest and Amadeus Capital Partners are among investors putting £2.5m into Pace, with InterGlobe – the company behind India’s larges airline IndiGo – leading the seed round. Read more: European fintech startup [...]
Bank of England plans to remove “gendered language” from all banking regulation December 13, 2017 The Bank of England plans to remove “gendered language” from its regulation of managers in the banking and finance sectors. The Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will change the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), the rules governing who bankers, insurers, and other finance managers behave, according to a consultation document published today. The regulation [...]
How to distinguish between a good financial adviser and a bad one December 13, 2017 Based on the number of notes I’ve written in the margins, the quantity of words I’ve underlined, and how often I pull it from the shelf, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz has my vote for the best business book. It contains an invaluable essay — 'Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager' [...]
Venezuela’s ironic cryptocurrency distraction: the flaws of the Petro December 13, 2017 Last week Venezuela’s Maduro regime vowed to finally put an end to the nation’s economic woes by creating a sovereign cryptocurrency, the Petro. Falling oil prices coupled with years of corruption and economic mismanagement have created a toxic mixture of soaring inflation, rampant unemployment and a burgeoning underground economy. The Petro is being touted as [...]
Digital challenger Starling to hit profit in 2019 says founder Anne Boden as European expansion takes crucial step December 12, 2017 Digital-only challenger bank Starling will “definitely” be in profit by the end of 2019, its chief executive told City A.M., as it announced a major step in its plans for European expansion. Anne Boden, who started work on the bank in 2014, said Starling will be “breaking even in about two years’ time” as it [...]
11 tech startups to watch according to top insurers in Startupbootcamp’s insurtech accelerator December 11, 2017 Nearly a dozen startups looking to disrupt the insurance industry with technology such as artificial intelligence have been chosen for the latest cohort of a London programme, backed by Lloyds Banking Group, Allianz, Scottish Widows and Confused.com among several high-profile financial firms. The 11 early stage startups from nine countries around the world will join [...]
Property Legal Q&A: What can I do if I suspect my landlord is overcharging me for repairs and maintenance? December 8, 2017 We are five leaseholders in a block of flats and we have recently discovered the landlord has been charging more than 100 per cent of the outgoings for repairs and maintaining the building. What can we do about this? The general rule is a landlord should not recover more or less of the costs [...]
Legal & General capitalises on “global growth opportunities” to deliver record profits December 7, 2017 The boss of insurance giant Legal & General today hailed the firm’s “formidable momentum” after revealing it was on track to deliver record annual profits. Annuity sales to date were £6.2bn. L&G said there had been “strong momentum” in the UK and US markets. The FTSE 100 group said it was sitting on £6.9bn of [...]