City figures warn London’s financial crown at risk if UK does not roll out digital Sterling August 18, 2021 City figures have warned that London’s status as Europe’s financial capital will be in serious jeopardy if the Treasury and Bank of England are slow to introduce digital Sterling. Rishi Sunak said last month that the Treasury was looking into one day releasing a so-called “Britcoin”, but that no decision had been made. Sunak said [...]
Exclusive: Charities invest in stocks as interest rates drop August 18, 2021 UK charities have reduced cash holdings and invested in stocks as they face fundraising challenges. There has been a huge drop in the interest rates on cash deposit accounts for charities, according to independent investment manager James Hambro & Partners. The average interest rate on a deposit of £10,000 from a charity cash deposit account [...]
PayPal ditches late fees for buy now pay later purchases August 18, 2021 PayPal will stop charging late fees when customers miss payments on buy now, pay later (BNPL) purchases worldwide, in an effort to attract customers amid booming market competition. As of October 1, purchases from customers in the US, UK and France will no longer be subject to late fees, while the company’s BNPL services in [...]
British sales rep a LinkedIn sensation after leaving £100k job to become postman August 18, 2021 A Briton who went viral on LinkedIn after swapping a high-paying career to become a postman has said “Covid has made people value the simple things in life”. Phil Goddard, 56, from Orwell in Cambridgeshire, left behind decades in sales and account management after going through furlough and redundancy in 2020. In September last year [...]
Brits who rely on cash set to benefit from improved access at shops August 18, 2021 Brits who rely heavily on cash to manage their finances and buy essential goods and services are set to be benefit from improved access to pounds and pennies. Following a successful pilot, the Access to Cash group has decided to rapidly roll out ‘cashback without purchase’ to thousands of smaller shops over the coming month. [...]
Home office hazards: Shoffices and pizza oven related fires jumped during lockdown August 18, 2021 Insurer Zurich has warned that outbuilding fires – in sheds, garages and conservatories – rose by 16 per cent last year when national lockdowns resulted in a surge in people turning their sheds into offices, or ‘shoffices’. New data revealed through freedom of information requests by insurer Zurich to UK fire authorities have shown that [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? August 18, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. London First completes leadership shuffle Business lobby organisation London First has strengthened its leadership team this week as it channels its focus on the capital’s return to growth, emerging from the pandemic. Former director of corporate [...]
Majority of employees opt for flexible working over a pay rise August 18, 2021 A new study has revealed that the vast majority of people would choose to work flexibly over an immediate pay rise and full-time return to the office. Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of workers would prefer flexible working over going back to the office full time even if they were handed a 10 per [...]
FCA warns equity crowdfunding CEOs of consumers making ‘high-risk’ investments August 18, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has written to the CEOs of equity crowdfunding platforms, to warn them that consumers are still making “inappropriate high-risk” investments despite the current marketing restrictions, as first reported in P2P Finance News. The FCA said crowdfunding firms should “promote investment opportunities appropriately so that consumers can understand the risks these [...]
Sturdy returns: World’s largest wealth fund swells by $111bn in just six months August 18, 2021 The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund has pulled in $111bn in the first six months of this year, some 0.28 per cent higher than the fund’s benchmark index. The $1.4 trillion Norwegian fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, posted a 9.4 per cent return on investments in its half-year financials, as the value of its equities [...]
