How Kapten is trying to take Uber’s ride-hailing crown September 23, 2019 Uber has an image problem. The ride-hailing app’s popularity has declined on complaints that its drivers are contributing to congestion and pollution on London’s streets. Uber took a big PR hit last year when Transport for London (TfL) took away its operating licence due to issues with the company’s approach to safety and regulation. The [...]
Mortgages with terms over 40 years jump 20-fold July 22, 2019 The number of approved UK home mortgages with a term of more than 40 years rocketed in 2018, rising over 20-fold to 3,483 from just 162 the previous year, according to analysis by London estate agent Ludlow Thompson. Read more: Mortgage approvals dip in May but remain above average The figures are the latest sign [...]
MPs slam Carillion’s ‘rotten’ corporate culture and call for break up of the big four audit firms May 16, 2018 MPs today slammed Carillion’s “rotten” corporate culture and called for a break up of big four audit firms. A report published today by the Work and Pensions and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committees said that Carillion’s collapse was a “story of recklessness, hubris and greed”. Read more: Failed outsourcer Carillion hid true level [...]
What is microfinance and why does it matter for investors? November 25, 2019 Exclusion from the financial system is widely regarded as a major obstacle to people’s efforts to grow out of poverty. In 2017, 1.7 billion adults across the globe had no access to a bank account, with the vast majority of them living in emerging and frontier markets. 56 per cent of these were women, and [...]
Trinity Mirror’s Express takeover slowed down as competition regulators lift up the bonnet April 11, 2018 Britain’s competition regulator today launched an investigation into the sale of Richard Desmond’s Express newspaper stable to the owner of the Daily Mirror. Media giants Trinity Mirror and Northern & Shell agreed a £127m deal in February, ending Desmond’s 18-year association with some of Britain’s most popular newspaper and magazine titles. Just £48m will be [...]
DEBATE: In the wake of the Carillion scandal, is it time to break up the Big Four accountancy firms? May 17, 2018 In the wake of the Carillion scandal, is it time to break up the Big Four accountancy firms? Rachel Reeves MP, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, says YES. Virtually all the FTSE 250 are audited by the Big Four. This cosy and complacent club has long, lucrative relationships with these companies. [...]
Financial Conduct Authority confirms ban on sale of binary options to retail consumers March 29, 2019 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said today it was banning the sale, marketing or distribution of binary options to retail customers. Binary options are financial instruments that allow traders to speculate on which way a market will move. Read more: The FCA has to show it really means business The FCA said the [...]
Worried about the skills shortage in London? Look to devolution October 11, 2019 Apprenticeships are powerful examples of how boroughs and businesses can work together to create meaningful work and training opportunities for Londoners. Yet, the research that we at London Councils and London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) are launching today shows that the system is failing London and needs reform. Since 2017, the apprenticeship levy [...]
Schroders to take charge of Woodford Patient Capital Trust October 24, 2019 Schroders will take charge of the embattled Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) after former star stockpicker Neil Woodford’s abrupt departure last week. Shares in WPCT surged over 28 per cent in morning trading following the news. Read more: DEBATE: Can Neil Woodford’s reputation ever recover? Woodford’s fall from grace was cemented last week when he [...]
Committee chairs Neil Parish and Rachel Reeves to ask competition watchdog to include suppliers in Sainsbury’s Asda probe May 2, 2018 Two select committee chairs have joined forces to ask the competition watchdog to include suppliers in any probe of the Sainsbury’s Asda merger. Neil Parish, the Conservative chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee, told City A.M. that he and Labour MP Rachel Reeves will ask the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]