Debunking the myths around tax-efficient investing December 13, 2017 Tax-efficient investing is a poorly understood market. This was evident in a recent poll of 2,200 people by national financial planning firm Fairstone, which found that just eight per cent of people are aware of venture capital trusts (VCTs), and a tiny four per cent are aware of the enterprise investment scheme (EIS). With [...]
How to distinguish between a good financial adviser and a bad one December 13, 2017 | City Talk Based on the number of notes I’ve written in the margins, the quantity of words I’ve underlined, and how often I pull it from the shelf, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz has my vote for the best business book. It contains an invaluable essay — 'Good Product Manager/Bad Product Manager' [...]
Bacanora Minerals’ huge lithium mine has been valued at $1.25bn December 13, 2017 Bacanora Minerals is one step closer to pumping some much-needed lithium into the market after a positive feasibility study today valued its flagship project at $1.25bn (£936m). Sonora, Bacanora's battery-grade lithium carbonate mine in Mexico, has the potential to become one of the world's top lithium mines, chief executive Peter Secker told City AM. The [...]
The Labour danger: Pricing in the possibility of a Corbyn-led government December 12, 2017 It has been 18 months filled with political surprises, and at a time when nothing seems to be off the cards, the possibility of a Corbyn-led government perhaps isn’t as farfetched as some of us imagined. While many businesspeople are praying this never comes to light, it’s still a risk that can’t be ignored. [...]
Philip Hammond joins European finance ministers to call for a rethink of Trump’s proposed US tax reform December 11, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has joined with his counterparts across Europe to urge US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to rethink a proposed tax reform. In a letter addressed to Mnuchin, seen by City A.M., the finance ministers of the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain warned that the tax reform promised by President Donald [...]
Business group warns on UK’s digital skills gap December 11, 2017 The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on the government to tackle the digital skills shortage in smaller firms or risk stalling productivity. It claimed that more than a quarter of business owners in England lack confidence in their basic digital skills while 22 per cent believe a lack of basic digital skills among [...]
Property Legal Q&A: What can I do if I suspect my landlord is overcharging me for repairs and maintenance? December 8, 2017 We are five leaseholders in a block of flats and we have recently discovered the landlord has been charging more than 100 per cent of the outgoings for repairs and maintaining the building. What can we do about this? The general rule is a landlord should not recover more or less of the costs [...]
Could fintech be opening the door to more financial crime? December 8, 2017 | City Talk Fintech startups aim to disrupt current practices and to do it fast. The emerging business model requires product managers find a buyer need, put out a minimum viable product, and iterate change in response to customer use. However, all this innovation—especially with entrepreneurs who have more tech savvy than experience in financial services—opens opportunities [...]
Coca Cola HBC appoints Zoran Bogdanovic as new CEO following death of Dimitris Lois December 7, 2017 FTSE 100 bottling firm Coca-Cola HBC has appointed Zoran Bogdanovic as chief executive. He replaces Dimitris Lois, who passed away in October. Shares in the company nudged up slightly in early trading, reaching 2,342p. Bogdanovic is currently a region director for the firm, which is one of the largest bottling companies for Coca-Cola in the [...]
The new Concorde? Japan Airlines has invested $10m in Richard Branson’s supersonic jet startup December 5, 2017 Boom Supersonic, the jet startup which is working with Richard Branson to build a Concorde-style passenger plane, has received a $10m (£7.5m) boost from Japan Airlines. The two companies unveiled a strategic partnership today, with the Japanese company saying it had pre-ordered 20 jets, dubbed the "mini Concorde". Last year Branson teamed up with the [...]