Treasury select committee chair Nicky Morgan: Insurance sector needs to be given “priority” status in Brexit talks October 27, 2017 Treasury select committee chair Nicky Morgan has called on the government to treat Britain’s insurers as a “priority sector” during Brexit negotiations. The influential group of MPs today publishes a report on the impact of a key European directive that shook up how much capital insurers must hold to cover any losses. Morgan called on [...]
Is blockchain overhyped? Analysts at investment bank Berenberg thinks so October 26, 2017 Blockchain technology, heralded as may as the future of finance, has been branded “overhyped” by analysts at investment bank Berenberg. Despite the “genuine excitement” over the technology’s potential, analysts believe the technical difficulty of implementing it will delay its progress. Read more: The five most active corporate investors in blockchain technology Banking is one of [...]
Trading Trump October 25, 2017 In recent months President Trump has reportedly been “hell bent” on imposing huge tariffs on steel imports to bolster domestic industries, despite warnings that doing so may spark a global trade war. Treading delicately as is his custom, ‘the Donald’ has also threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). Nafta does [...]
Sexism in the City: Jayne-Anne Gadhia tells MPs of “pervading sexism” in the Square Mile October 24, 2017 A former environment of “pervading sexism” in the City created an “alpha male” environment in which harassment was common, according to Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia. Speaking today to MPs on the Treasury Select Committee, Gadhia said she had come across multiple incidents during her career in the Square Mile when sexism had reared [...]
Why we need to focus on fund research to fix capitalism’s ills October 24, 2017 “We have met the enemy and he is us.” — Walt Kelly We blame capitalism for most of our modern ills, from climate change to phones that die every two years. Yet we rarely bother to read the sales pitch our accountant, banker, or adviser gives us for the funds to invest our hard-earned money [...]
Data might be like oil, but reputation is still the real black gold October 24, 2017 For those firms harbouring inordinate reserves of our personal information, despite the endless profit-churning opportunities, an unblemished corporate reputation remains priceless. Today’s internet giants were founded on our personal data. Amazon, Facebook, Google. They don’t have high street stores. There’s next-to no human interaction. It’s all data. But today, data is a democracy. Businesses in [...]
Chinese owner of Edinburgh-based Skyscanner plans to open a call centre in the city creating up to 200 jobs October 23, 2017 The Chinese owner of Edinburgh-based travel search site Skyscanner plans to open a call centre in the city, creating up to 200 jobs over the next few years. Ctrip is the second largest online travel agent in the world and the largest in China. Founded in 1999 by James Liang, Neil Shen, Min Fan and [...]
To save our treasured NHS, we must first acknowledge that it is failing the country October 20, 2017 The NHS is failing. No, this isn’t some attempt to “American-ize” the UK’s healthcare system. The US is the only developed country in the world not to offer universal access to healthcare, making it the weakest comparison for an NHS alternative. Nor is this some rogue or unpopular opinion. It is what the statistics around [...]
Esure and Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood to flog chunk of Gocompare stock to pursue property investment interests October 18, 2017 Sir Peter Wood, the insurance tycoon founder of Direct Line and Esure, today revealed plans to dump a multi-million slug of Gocompare shares on the market in order to fund his London and US property interests. In an after-market announcement, Wood said he will place 21.3m shares on the market. With Gocompare’s stock trading at [...]
Legal & General (L&G) uses pensioners’ money to fund a huge revamp of Yorkshire County Cricket Club ground Headingley October 18, 2017 Insurance giant Legal & General is to fund a mammoth revamp of Headingley’s iconic cricket and rugby ground. The FTSE 100 firm is to invest £35m from its retirement funds into Yorkshire cricket’s home ground in a deal brokered by Leeds City Council. The West Yorkshire city is proving investment favourite for L&G, which has [...]