Lloyds Banking Group could pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders despite fears of higher costs related to PPI claims February 21, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly getting ready to pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders, despite fears of further costs related to the mis-selling of loan insurance. The Sunday Times reported today that Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is attempting to convince regulators that the bailed-out bank has enough capital to afford the [...]
Standard Life’s share price lifts as group raises dividends by 7.8p saying it is “well capitalised” under Solvency II February 19, 2016 Standard Life has upped its dividend after group inflows soared, boosting income and profits ahead of expectations, and showing a strong surplus under new Solvency II rules. The figures Group operating profit before tax at the 200-year-old investment bank and insurer rose nine per cent to £665m for the full calendar year, while group underlying performance was [...]
Four great books to super-charge your brain in 2016 – we review the best from commodities to effective investing and The Big Short February 18, 2016 THE SECRET CLUB THAT RUNS THE WORLD by Katie Kelly Commodity prices have crashed, with everything from oil and metals to grains at multi-year lows. It seems like the end of the “commodity supercycle”, the post-millennium boom when prices of all base goods were soaring. But how did they become so expensive in the first place? [...]
Uber, Airbnb, eBay and Etsy: 2.5m people a month are now part of the online sharing economy, finds JP Morgan February 18, 2016 From selling items on eBay to renting out a spare room on Airbnb, 2.5m people each month are now earning money from the sharing economy, according to one of the most comprehensive studies of the new and fast-growing part of the economy to date. Those participating, who are more likely to be young and on lower incomes, earn around 20 to 30 per [...]
Lancashire Holdings share price drops as company reveals a fall in profits and chairman of nine years Martin Thomas announces departure February 18, 2016 Share price in Lancashire Holdings dropped as the chairman announced his departure and the company revealed a fall in profits today. The insurer reported profit before tax for the year ended December 2015 of $171.7m (£119.4m), down from $226.5m for the year ended December 2014, while gross premiums written dropped to $641.1m, compared with $907.6m [...]
European Central Bank policy makers divided on further easing as one suggests allowing inflation to overshoot February 18, 2016 Rate setters at the European Central Bank were divided in their last meeting as to how they should respond to financial market turbulence and increased risks to growth. Some members thought acting preemptively to mitigate rising risks to growth and inflation would be appropriate while others warned against it. One member even suggested that the [...]
Stamp of approval: Has the Chinese economic slowdown licked the value of philatelic investments? February 18, 2016 When share prices are volatile, fine wine, art and other tangible assets offer the bittersweet assurance that your investment will only turn to dust if exposed to excessive sunlight or extremes in temperature. Interest in philatelic investment, or stamp collecting, peaked after the financial crisis as investors turned to alternative asset classes to diversify their [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Maike Currie talks to financial services entrepreneur Joanne Smith about dry January and why compliance is the “new rock ‘n roll” February 18, 2016 My lunch date with Joanne Smith, financial services veteran turned entrepreneur, is long overdue. I have been using stalling tactics and to be honest it’s due to her area of expertise: compliance. (Read: boring box-ticker.) But it’s a New Year and, cloaked in noble resolutions, I finally make the time to meet her at a [...]
ABI warns chancellor George Osborne against further hikes to Insurance Premium Tax in Budget 2016 February 16, 2016 Any further rise in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) would “hit millions of people doing the right thing”, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said. IPT affects 50m car, home, pet and private medical insurance policies. The insurance body has said the tax rise from six per cent to 9.5 per cent announced in the chancellor’s 2015 Summer Budget has [...]
Redefine International raises £115m to fund property deal February 16, 2016 Redefine International has raised £115m via a share placing to help fund its £437m acquisition of a portfolio of properties from insurer Aegon's UK Property Fund. The retail and commercial property investor, which is listed in both the UK and South Africa, bought the first tranche of the AUK Portfolio in October for £203.5m using existing cash resources and a [...]