Investment trust winners of 2016 December 29, 2016 Investment trusts focused on Asia are on course to deliver some of the best returns in 2016, according to data for trust sectors. Investment trusts are an alternative to more commonly held open-ended funds or unit trusts, offering some advantages. This is explained here: investment trust v open-ended funds Here, we look at the performance [...]
Brexit confusion gives foreign firms “God-given opportunity” to steal UK business says Trump commerce secretary December 26, 2016 Brexit offers a “God-given opportunity” for foreign businesses to take market share from the UK, according to comments attributed to US President-elect Donald Trump’s new trade chief. Veteran distressed debt billionaire Wilbur Ross made the comments to finance executives in Cyprus in the period after the referendum – before his appointment by Trump as US [...]
Storm Barbara: UK insurance firm says inclement weather won’t stop Santa December 22, 2016 One the UK's most respected insurance firms has confirmed that Father Christmas will be able to deliver presents, spreading joy to billions of children around the world. JLT Re has a crack-squad of forecasters on hand to predict when the next major weather disaster could hit planet earth. Read more: Storm Barbara to hit the UK's great [...]
Legal & General appoints EY senior partner Jeff Davies as new chief financial officer December 22, 2016 Insurance giant Legal & General (L&G) has appointed EY senior partner Jeff Davies as group chief financial officer. Davies will take up the role after the firm's 2016 preliminary results announcement next spring and current finance boss Mark Gregory will step down at the same time. Gregory will remain an employee of the company until [...]
Lloyds Banking Group snaps up Bank of America’s MBNA credit card firm for £1.9bn in first acquisition since financial crisis December 20, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group has beaten off other bidders to snap up Bank of America's UK credit card company MBNA for £1.9bn, in its first acquisition since it was bailed out by taxpayers in 2008. The UK lender emerged as the frontrunner to take over MBNA, which holds assets of £7bn, in late November. The takeover is a [...]
It’s been a bumper year for stock markets – but how good was 2016 really? December 20, 2016 “Some investors have quipped that it took days for the markets to digest the UK referendum outcome, hours to come to terms with Donald Trump as President-Elect and minutes to assess Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s resignation,” Mark Haefele, global chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management, told clients last week. It has been a [...]
Three become one: Experts welcome government’s pension advice simplification plans December 19, 2016 The government has revealed plans to overhaul its financial advice services, consolidating three bodies down into one. Under proposals released by the department for work and pensions, the Money Advice Service, the Pension Advice Service and Pension Wise will be replaced with a yet-to-be-named single new body. "This new single body will be a place people can [...]
New proposals could cause banks to pocket up to £23bn in unpaid PPI compensation, a group said December 19, 2016 Banks stand to pocket up to £23bn in unpaid payment protection insurance (PPI) compensation when new deadlines come in, a new campaign group has warned. The group Payback Time was launched today to warn how new proposals to be announced in early 2017 are expected to limit what companies can do to expose the PPI [...]
City Moves for 19 December 2016 | Who’s switching jobs December 19, 2016 Fitch Fitch has appointed Sean Costello as head of its EMEA corporates banker team. Sean joins from Commerzbank where he was head of loan capital markets within their leveraged finance group. Sean joined Commerzbank in August 2005 from the leveraged loan distribution team at Bank of Scotland and prior to that, NIBC Bank and NatWest Capital Markets. With [...]
Habito founder Daniel Hegarty talks fintech mortgages, bigamy and working above a kebab shop December 19, 2016 Many people have a career change. Before venturing into fintech, Daniel Hegarty, founder of digital mortgage broker Habito, was a professional musician, composing for TV and film and touring internationally. In 2007, he joined a few people trying to work out how to do loans on the internet in real time, in a pre-launch company [...]