Financial News (1884–1945)

Marks himself was key to the paper's early growth, when it had a buccaneering nature to fight against corruption and to compete with the Financial Times.

Financial News was subsequently bought by publishers Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1928 and run by Brendan Bracken.

[1] Founder Harry Marks imported techniques he had learned in the United States which was to target those offering questionable investment schemes.

The newspaper uncovered the involvement of officials and members of the Metropolitan Board of Works that ran local government services in London in schemes to personally enrich themselves.

[9] The Marks estate was eventually sold in 1919, and most of the Financial News shares were bought by John Jarvis.

Bracken persuaded the board to buy the Financial News and then bought a number of other publications (the Investors Chronicle and a half-share in The Economist among them).

It argued that Hitler was the prisoner of the non-Nazi majority in his government, and that the Nazis were highly unlikely to "attempt to base their power on armed forces".

[14] However, the paper soon changed its line, arguing at the time of the remilitarization of the Rhineland that a stand would have to be taken against German military aggression.

Towards the end of the war, Camrose decided to sell the Financial Times, and arrangements for a merger were put in place.

[17] The three top jobs in the new merged paper went to former Financial News employees, including Parkinson as editor.