Climate progress tracker improves on higher carbon prices and electric vehicle sales August 31, 2021 | City Talk Last week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, issued a landmark scientific report that serves as a “code red for humanity”, according to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. It comes three months before the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), warns of climate catastrophe and lays the blame firmly at the door of human activity. [...]
Benchmarking has become circular August 31, 2021 | City Talk Time and again throughout my career I have ranted about the nonsense of benchmarking in all its forms. By now I have given up on the hope that business and investing will ever leave the practice behind, so I don’t expect this post to change anything except to make me feel better. I spoke recently [...]
FCA says it cannot supervise crypto exchange Binance effectively August 25, 2021 UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has admitted that it is “not capable” of effectively supervising Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume in a statement published today. In a supervisory note the watchdog today reiterated its concerns over Binance’s products, which allow consumers to take supercharged bets, and added that the crypto exchange [...]
Afghanistan: World Bank freezes funding after Taliban takeover August 25, 2021 The World Bank has halted funding for projects in Afghanistan after the country’s fall to Taliban control. The Washington-based financial institution cited concerns over Afghanistan’s future development prospects in the wake of drastic leadership change, particularly for the nation’s women. The halt on aid disbursements is set to continue while the bank assesses how the [...]
Afterpay marketing costs double in bid to secure US payments market August 25, 2021 Australian transactions firm Afterpay has watched its losses widen in the past year, as it ramped up costs in a bid to secure the US market. Marketing costs more than doubled in the year to June, as the firm attempted to capitalise on the pandemic-induced buy now, pay later (BNPL) services boom – which accompanied [...]
ESG: full speed ahead, sat-nav still required August 24, 2021 | City Talk Sustainable investing based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors has become central to how we invest. Investors are demanding more from their asset managers: they want to invest based on their values and they are demanding more accountability from companies about addressing changing societal issues. Indeed, the Index Industry Association (IIA)’s most current latest [...]
Under the bonnet: Why a financial MOT should be on your to-do list August 23, 2021 | Sponsored Just like your car, your finances need keeping an eye on to ensure everything is running smoothly. Even if you have a solid financial plan in place, it still needs to be updated from time to time to ensure it reflects any life changes. Clients of Brewin Dolphin’s financial planning service have their arrangements reviewed [...]
The piggybank: Giving your child a financial head start this tax year August 23, 2021 | Sponsored With eye-watering university fees and spiralling house prices to contend with, you might think you need to be a millionaire to give your child a financial head start in life. Yet investing relatively small amounts of money into a Junior ISA each month could put your child on the path to a more secure future. [...]
Extinction Rebellion protests cost over £50m August 21, 2021 The cost of policing Extinction Rebellion protests are over £50m, and is expected to rise with more demonstrations planned over the next few weeks, according to reports. The Metropolitan Police’s gold commander for the demonstrations, Rachel Williams, said the figure included the response to two protests in 2019 and one in September last year, when [...]
Mastercard faces £10bn class-action lawsuit in UK August 19, 2021 A UK court has approved the UK’s biggest class action lawsuit of over £10bn against global payments processor Mastercard on behalf of 46m consumers, according to reports. The previously rejected lawsuit was formally certified on Wednesday to go to trial by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in London. It will be the first mass claim [...]