General News

January 22, 2024 @ 10:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Despite a December rise, inflation is expected “to continue falling this year” says Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG UK. The KPMG UK team noted that the expected fall in the energy price cap in April “could see inflation returning to target by spring. Nevertheless, disruptions… Read More

January 22, 2024 @ 2:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN) and iCapital, a wealth management Fintech, have announced a strategic relationship to provide Advisor Workstation users “with access to alternative investments and analytics for the first time.” The integration equips Advisor Workstation’s more than 170,000 users with alternative investment research and… Read More

January 22, 2024 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

  The British Business Bank says its Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) has supported £1 billion of finance offers to smaller businesses since its launch in August 2022. Launched in 2014, the British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. The Recovery Loan Scheme… Read More

January 22, 2024 @ 7:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Business activity at UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expanded at the fastest rate for seven months in December, “led by renewed growth in the service economy.” Adding to signs of a steady turnaround in business conditions, new orders “stabilized at the end of 2023,… Read More

January 22, 2024 @ 5:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

NAB has partnered with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to deliver a free cyber assessment tool in order “to help Aussie small businesses prepare for and bounce back from a cyber attack.” The tailored, self-assessment – available for all Australian businesses from now – “takes under two… Read More

January 21, 2024 @ 6:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dataroid, which claims to be a foremost player of the digital analytics and customer engagement industry, supporting various industries with a notable emphasis on banking and financial services, has reportedly secured a US$2 million investment. Dataroid, a key player in the digital analytics and customer… Read More

January 19, 2024 @ 2:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Barclays has relaunched its Cambridge Eagle Lab with a renewed focus on “helping high growth climate tech startups to connect, grow and scale.” The site has undergone a significant retrofit, “with the goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 90 per cent compared to 2018.”… Read More

January 19, 2024 @ 6:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) says that it is focused on unlocking efficiencies in B2B healthcare payments through innovative partnership As noted in an update from Mastercard, the firm will assist with “scaling the use of virtual cards to bring faster payments and reconciliation to healthcare providers… Read More

January 18, 2024 @ 4:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired Impendi, a sourcing and procurement services provider with a focus on private equity clients, expanding a critical capability to Accenture’s growing offerings for this industry. Impendi helps private equity companies “make sourcing and procurement decisions that increase their profitability and… Read More

January 18, 2024 @ 6:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) announced the closing of a $300 million equity fundraise for Quantinuum, the integrated quantum computing company, at a pre-money valuation of $5 billion. The investment round is anchored by Quantinuum’s strategic partner JPMorgan Chase, with additional participation from Mitsui & Co., Amgen… Read More

January 17, 2024 @ 3:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced the release of its inaugural Consumer Products and Retail Executive Pulse, which shows that amid “ongoing economic pressures, CPG and retail leaders alike are planning to invest in artificial intelligence (AI), supply chain and industry convergence to tap… Read More

January 17, 2024 @ 1:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

AI [artificial intelligence] will affect almost 40 percent of jobs around the world, “replacing some and complementing others.” So that’s why we may “need a careful balance of policies to tap its potential,” according to an update shared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In… Read More

January 17, 2024 @ 12:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

IPO [initial public offering] activity was dismal in 2023. You have to go back to 2019, which was just before the COVID crisis disrupted the world, to find a worse year. A total of 1,429 IPOs were launched globally in 2023 a nearly 16% drop… Read More

January 17, 2024 @ 10:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Once one of the largest peer-to-peer lenders in the world, China’s Lufax (NYSE:LU) has hit an all-time low trading on the NYSE. The bid-ask of shares is around $2.17. A year ago, it was trading at over $10 a share, thus delivering a spectacular collapse… Read More

January 17, 2024 @ 8:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The majority of European and UK Equity Capital Markets (ECM) leaders believe that large international companies still “see London as a destination of choice when considering listing,” according to new research from KPMG UK. When asked where large international companies “would consider listing, almost all… Read More

January 16, 2024 @ 3:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The proportion of CEOs who believe global economic growth will improve over the next 12-months has more than doubled year-on-year, according to an update shared by PwC. At the same time, the proportion of CEOs concerned “about their long-term business viability has risen to 45%… Read More

January 16, 2024 @ 10:15 am By JD Alois  |  

  CI has reported on the moribund activity for venture capital and private equity for some time now. Again and again, we receive reports that VC and PE cratered in 2023. Today, once again, S&P Global Market Intelligence has shared another gloomy report stating that… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 5:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking for financial institutions, announced the appointment of Paul Staples as Group Head of Embedded Banking and Nick Ford as Group Head of Channels and Alliances. Paul has reportedly had “a 20-year career in banking, and building… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 4:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chargebacks911, an international chargeback management and prevention company, released the highly-anticipated findings of its 2024 Cardholder Dispute Index. This comprehensive research study compiles insights “from more than 4,000 consumers who have engaged in chargeback processes with their issuing banks in the past year.” Released in… Read More

January 13, 2024 @ 10:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Open Campus announced that Open Campus ID, its decentralized identifier (DID), will launch on 23 January to “connect potentially millions of learners from Open Campus’ network of partners to Web3 education through the Open Campus Alliance.” The Open Campus Alliance is described as “an ecosystem… Read More