Britain’s savings have undergone a “radical change” under the Conservative government says the IFS March 14, 2017 The savings landscape in the UK has undergone a “radical change” under the Conservative government as incentives push people towards individual savings accounts (Isas) rather than pensions, according to an influential economics think tank. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: “We’ve had quite a radical change in the shape of [...]
Prudential share price jumps on news of record operating profit driven by Asian growth March 14, 2017 Prudential shares rose over two per cent in early trading after the FTSE 100 insurer posted record annual operating profits, driven by a seventh year of double-digit growth in Asia. The figures Operating profit on longer-term investments rose by seven per cent to £4.3bn with underlying free surplus generated increasing 18 per cent to £3.6bn. [...]
Innovation never stops: What’s next for the tech startups in Bird & Bird’s Digital Innovators showcase pushing boundaries? March 14, 2017 When Bird & Bird and City A.M. sought to unearth, and then celebrate, the most innovative digital companies shaking up the worlds of finance, health, education, media and security, we knew the collective 20 companies we found were an outstanding demonstration of the UK’s leadership in cutting edge technology. Now, just four months on, the visionary founders [...]
City Moves – who’s switching jobs at Kingston Smith, BTL Group, Fulcrum Asset Management and Aon Hewitt March 14, 2017 Today's City Moves cover accountants, blockchain, asset management and pensions. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Kingston Smith Kingston Smith, the top 20 firm of chartered accountants and business advisers, has appointed Vida McShane as senior solicitor. Vida’s appointment will further strengthen the current legal service offering within the multi-disciplinary accountancy firm. She [...]
The chancellor’s shambolic national insurance hike is based on a faulty reading of aggregate statistics March 14, 2017 "Britain is damning itself to be a low wage, low productivity economy”. How many headlines like that have we read over the past few years? Certainly, the UK has performed poorly when it comes to overall real wage growth since the financial crisis, reflective of weak aggregate productivity growth. But often these average statistics are [...]
UK motor industry shifts down a gear as inflationary sentiments creep in March 14, 2017 Britons are expected to put the brakes on their spending for new cars in 2017 as inflation bites, new data by consumer research company GfK finds. In research out today, it forecasts that car sales will slide by 5 per cent this year, following last year’s record. Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, [...]
Simply Business bought by Travelers in $490m deal to accelerate US expansion March 13, 2017 Simply Business has today been swallowed up by US insurance giant Travelers in a $490m (£402m) deal that will deliver a bumper payout to every one of the UK broker's 400 employees. The firm, which boasts 425,000 micro-business customers across 1,000 business classes in Britain, was bought by private equity fund Aquiline last year as part of [...]
HSBC share price rises as AIA head Mark Tucker confirmed as new chairman March 13, 2017 Hong Kong-listed shares in HSBC have risen as markets greet the announcement of Mark Tucker as its new chairman. Shares on the Hang Seng index rose by 2.06 per cent at the time of publication, ahead of markets opening in London, where HSBC is also listed. The stock subesquently rose 1.2 per cent at the open [...]
Time for chancellor Philip Hammond to tinker about with his National Insurance plan March 13, 2017 Philip Hammond is unlikely to have enjoyed a peaceful weekend following his debut Budget last week. The chancellor has been on the end of a daily kicking since he announced a tax rise for self-employed workers, with some Conservatives questioning whether his political judgement is strong enough to hold such a senior position. One can [...]
What you need to know about Mark Tucker, the newly confirmed chairman of HSBC and former man from the Pru March 12, 2017 Mark Tucker, currently chief exec of AIA and once the man from the Pru, has been confirmed to replace HSBC's departing chairman Douglas Flint. But Tucker's life might have gone down a different path entirely as he once trained to be a professional football player. Although he may have hung up his boots for studying [...]