After the Nvidelity comes the Huangover. Jensen Huang joins long list who confused boardroom and bedroom
Beware fintech’s pivot to China April 12, 2016 Ever since former Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins declared an ”Uber moment” for banks, the powers that be from the Square Mile to Canary Wharf have rushed to defend themselves against a herd of ambitious fintech unicorns. But if recent collaborations between financial titans and spritely startups are anything to go by, it appears the [...]
Rothesay Life buys up a large chunk of Aegon’s UK annuity portfolio, as it announces a boost to its profits for 2015 April 11, 2016 When chancellor George Osborne first revealed the pension freedom rules, some feared it would be the death knell for annuities (although recent figures suggest it has been anything but). However, Rothesay Life was clearly not among the naysayers. The life insurer announced today that it had bought up £6bn worth of annuity portfolio from Aegon's UK subsidiary, Scottish Equitable, under [...]
This is where Brits spend the most money buying their first car (spoiler alert: it’s not London) April 11, 2016 Supercar season may be just getting under way in the city, but for all the golden Lambourghinis causing congestion in Knightsbrige, Londoners on average don't spend as much on their first cars as you'd think. Scotland is the real home of Britain's petrol heads, as new drivers north of the wall spend the most on their [...]
Pets at Home and new finance chief Graeme Jenkins part ways after Australia’s Wesfarmers admits to accounting errors at his former firm Target April 11, 2016 Pets at Home said that its incoming chief financial officer Graeme Jenkins will no longer be taking up the role after his former employer Wesfarmers this morning admitted to accounting errors at its Target Australia subsidiary where Jenkins was previously finance chief. The Australian conglomerate said that a probe into Target's accounting practices found that first-half profits at the department store had been falsely inflated by around [...]
Proptech: Aviva backs property tech start-up Opun with £3m funding April 11, 2016 An online property startup that helps homeowners find local contractors to repair their homes has secured £3m of funding from Aviva's new capital venture arm. Opun, which was founded two years ago by entrepreneurs Rod Brown and John Cushing, acts effectively like a broker by putting renters or landlords in touch with craftsmen in their area and [...]
Is SEAT’s new Leon the new hot-hatch hero? April 11, 2016 For many, the 1980s were the halcyon days of the hot hatchback. Yet as the next decade dawned, joyriding, ramraiding and soaring insurance premiums brought this go-faster fairytale to an abrupt end. Until now. We’re currently in the midst of a second golden age for the hot hatch. And while classic heroes like the Peugeot [...]
Why investors shouldn’t ignore the hype about fintech April 11, 2016 Many investors (business angels, venture capital and private equity funds as well as family offices) are participating in fintech, and recognise value creation truly reflective of a “fourth industrial revolution”. However, others are somewhat sceptical and concerned about froth and hype. Either way, what’s interesting is that even the most sceptical aren’t willing to bet [...]
City Moves for 11 April 2016 | Who’s switching jobs April 11, 2016 BBC Worldwide Tom Fussell has been appointed as chief financial officer at BBC Worldwide. He has extensive experience of the TV and wider media industry, having worked in global media organisations for 20 years. Most recently, Tom was finance chief of Shine from 2013 to 2015, leading a global finance function across 11 markets. He [...]
UK pensions trends: FTSE 100 defined benefit pension schemes are increasingly bolstered by bonds April 11, 2016 FTSE 100 companies now hold a record £315bn worth of bonds across their defined benefit (DB) pension pots, research released today has found. According to the study by JLT Employee Benefits, FTSE 100 companies increased the value of bonds they held in their DB pension scheme assets by roughly £25bn over the year to the end of September [...]
M&A: Willis Towers Watson merger believed to be able to survive inversion rule changes unscathed April 10, 2016 The announced changes to the US inversion rules will not turn one of the insurance industry's most high-profile mergers on its head, the firm involved announced late last week. Willis Towers Watson, which was formed out of the successful merger of Towers Watson and Willis Group Holdings in January, issued a statement remarking that it did [...]