6:50 am, September 25, 2024
Mastercard expands AI technology to help banks detect scams as they happen
Mastercard has expanded an initiative that helps banks to detect payment scams as they are happening.
Since early 2023, the Mastercard scheme has helped UK banks identify and stop potentially fraudulent payments before the funds leave the victim’s account.
The initiative, which uses artificial intelligence, works by scanning multiple data points associated with a transaction, providing a risk score in real time to the sender’s bank.
Starmer promises to ‘rise above challenges’ to deliver new Britain
Sir Keir Starmer said people must ‘face the storm’ in order to make a ‘Britain built to last’ as he warned of further tough decisions to turn the country around.
In his first Labour Party conference speech as Prime Minister, Sir Keir set out plans to ‘clear out the Tory rot’, with a new era of political leadership creating a country ‘renewed by respect and service’.
Dulux maker AkzoNobel to cut 2,000 jobs
The paint giant behind Dulux is to cut about 2,000 jobs in a bid to slash costs.
AkzoNobel announced on Tuesday that it plans to complete a raft of redundancies by the end of 2025 to make its operations more efficient.
The Dutch group, which has operations in 150 countries including the UK, said it will “streamline” its management structure through the cuts. The move will impact more than 5% of its 35,700 global employees.
GB Energy to be headquartered in Aberdeen, PM confirms
GB Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Sir Keir and Labour had promised in the lead-up to the election that GB Energy – which he has described as an ‘investment vehicle’ – would have its headquarters north of the border, sparking speculation and repeated questions over where it would be located.
In his first speech to the Labour Party conference since entering Downing Street in July, the Prime Minister said the agency ‘could only ever be based in one place in Scotland’.
Preston and Lincoln out on top as ‘least frustrating’ places for commuters – survey
Preston and Lincoln have been jointly named the ‘least frustrating’ places for commuters to drive through in a recent survey.
With Lincoln having the fewest road delays in the UK – with 19.4 seconds lost per vehicle to mile – it scored highly among commuters, while Preston’s road quality pushed it into joint first place with less than a quarter of its road surfaces being in poor condition.
Low parking and fuel costs also contributed to the popularity of both places among commuters. In Preston, fees to park came out at an average of £7.15 for an eight-hour work day, while petrol stood at an average of 140.5p a litre and diesel 146.8p a litre.
Tuesday on Car Dealer
Dealers missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds by not pricing stock correctly – Indicata
Dealers are losing significant revenue by underpricing desirable stock and holding onto lower-quality cars for too long, according to Indicata’s analysis of 50,000 used cars. A £400m loss came from selling popular cars too quickly at 100% market price, while another £15m was lost by not reducing prices on older, slower-moving inventory. Appearing on Car Dealer Live, the firm’s Dean Merritt emphasised the need for dealers to balance pricing strategies by considering both stock age and vehicle desirability.
Listers becomes latest car dealer to see profits tumble as shrinking margins hit
Listers Group has become the latest dealer to report a significant drop in profits, with pre-tax earnings for the year ending March 31, 2024, down nearly 55% to £18.4m. The Warwickshire-based firm blamed shrinking margins, with its gross profit margin falling to 14.1% from 15.1%. However, turnover increased slightly to £1.31bn, driven by a 17% increase in vehicle sales. Despite the decline in profits, Listers saw growth in both new and used car sales, while also investing in staff and operations.
FCA officially extends pause on complaints handling in motor finance commission scandal
Motorists mis-sold car finance deals may have to wait until December 2024 for compensation, as the FCA extended the deadline due to delays in receiving data from firms. The investigation concerns discretionary commission schemes, which allowed dealers to raise interest rates to increase commissions. Firms like Close Brothers and Lloyds have set already aside millions for potential claims.
UK’s best car dealers for customer service are recognised by anonymous review service
JudgeService has revealed the top 20 car dealerships in the UK based on customer reviews over the past three months. Leading the list is Furrows of Oswestry with a 99.56% customer satisfaction score, closely followed by Rockingham Cars Fiat & Abarth Corby at 99.53%. Vertu Motors also performed strongly, with multiple dealership ranked highly. These rankings highlight the importance of delivering exceptional customer service.
Carwow launches ‘Car-change? Carwow’ campaign with new TV and radio advert
Carwow has launched a new advertising campaign, ‘Car-change? Carwow,’ featuring TV ads with YouTube star Mat Watson. The campaign, running until October 27 on over 100 Sky channels and national radio, aims to reach 11m consumers. Carwow’s digital channels and brands like Auto Express will also promote the campaign, highlighting stress-free car buying and selling.
How winning a Car Dealer Used Car Award can have a positive impact on dealer morale
Swansway Group boss Peter Smyth has emphasised the positive impact of winning the Car Dealer Used Car Award, particularly in the Used Car Dealership Group of the Year category. He noted that such recognition boosts employee morale and fosters pride across all departments, from marketing to sales. Smyth encouraged other dealerships to participate, highlighting the awards’ role in motivating teams and promoting stability within the automotive trade.
Elon Musk says X will let blocked accounts still see user posts
Elon Musk has said social media platform X plans to scale back how its blocking tool works, so that blocked accounts will still be able to view a user’s public posts, but not engage with them.
Currently, when an account blocks another on the site, it prevents the blocked user from being able to view any activity on the other’s profile, as well as interact with any of their posts.
Responding to a post on the subject, Mr Musk said: ‘High time this happened. The block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, public post (sic).’
High time this happened.
The block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, public post.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 23, 2024
The markets
The FTSE 100 nudged upwards on Tuesday after investors were buoyed by economic stimulus measures by China early in the day.
London’s premier index rose 23.05 points, or 0.28%, to end the day at 8282.76, with most of its early gains cancelled out by the close.
In European markets, Frankfurt’s Dax index rose 0.75%, while the Cac 40 in Paris had closed up 1.28%.
Weather outlook
The UK will today experience a mix of cloudy skies with occasional rain, especially in England and Wales.
Northern regions, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, will see brighter but cooler conditions with scattered showers.
Temperatures will range from 12°C to 15°C, and there’s a chance of light drizzle and patchy rain throughout the day.
