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FCA demands changes to unarranged overdraft fees

ByNathan BissittJuly 31, 2017

“Maintaining the status quo is not an option” when it comes to banks’ unarranged overdraft charges, the UK’s City watchdog has said. The Financial Conduct Authority has published its review into high-cost credit, including the affectiveness of

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Apple 'pulls 60 VPNs from China App Store'

ByNathan BissittJuly 31, 2017

The creators of several Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have criticised Apple’s decision to remove their products from its App Store in China.The BBC understands that as many as 60 VPNs were pulled over the weekend. Apple said it was legally required to remove

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HSBC sees half-year profits rise by 5%

ByNathan BissittJuly 31, 2017

HSBC has reported a 5% rise in profits in the first half of 2017.Europe’s biggest bank reported a pre-tax profit of $10.2bn (£7.8bn) for the first six months, up by about $500m.As widely expected, the bank has also announced a share buyback of up to $2bn which

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Overdraft fees: Regulator says 'status quo' not an option

ByNathan BissittJuly 31, 2017

The “status quo is not an option” when it comes to the fees banks charge for unarranged overdrafts, the UK’s financial services regulator has said.The Financial Conduct Authority has published its report into the rules governing high-cost lending,

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Brexit: UK will not cut taxes, says Philip Hammond

ByNathan BissittJuly 31, 2017

The UK will not cut tax and regulations after Brexit in a bid to undercut EU rivals, Philip Hammond has suggested.The chancellor told French newspaper Le Monde that tax raised as a percentage of the British economy “puts us right in the middle” of European

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HSBC half-year profits up 5% after turbulent 2016

ByNathan BissittJuly 31, 2017

HSBC’s profits rose 5% in the first half of the year after a turbulent 2016. The results were better than expected with Europe’s largest bank reporting that its pre-tax profit for the first six months to June came in at $10.2bn (£7.8bn), compared with

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Will keys become a thing of the past?

ByNathan BissittJuly 31, 2017

If you are always losing the keys to your office, home or hotel room, perhaps you’ll like the idea of your phone or watch being able to, quite literally, open doors. As part of the BBC’s Jumpstarting Japan series – meeting the Asian giant’s

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Whisky collector-turned-CEO: Live your passion

ByNathan BissittJuly 30, 2017

Sukhinder Singh is the CEO of the Whisky Exchange, one of the UK’s largest online retailers of fine wines and spirits. What is now his business began as his passion – he began collecting miniature bottles of whisky after helping out at his parents’

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Hungry for success

ByNathan BissittJuly 30, 2017

Like other great success stories, Sheldon Fireman’s started with a sense of ambition, an understanding of the local culture, and nothing to do on a Friday night. Hanging out in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York in the 1960s, Mr Fireman –

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The tax trick

ByNathan BissittJuly 30, 2017

Would you like to pay less tax? Make a sandwich: specifically, a “double Irish, Dutch sandwich”. Suppose you’re American. You set up a company in Bermuda and sell it your intellectual property. It then sets up a subsidiary in Ireland. Now, set up