Bank spending on consultants jumps as fintech challenge and regulation keep lenders on their toes November 27, 2017 Banks across the world upped their spending on consultants by 8.4 per cent last year as they tried to navigate changing regulation and fight off the challenge from more nimble, newer competitors. Globally banks spent $13.6bn (£10.2bn) on consultants, a rise from the $12.5bn spent during the year before, according to data from Source Global [...]
Transport for London blames Brexit uncertainty for surprise fall in passenger numbers November 27, 2017 Transport for London (TfL) has blamed an unexpected fall in passenger numbers on Brexit uncertainty and "economic factors affecting the whole of the UK". The transport body said in its draft business plan for 2018/19 to 2022/23: We have seen lower growth in demand for our services than previously forecast for this year, largely owing [...]
What is social selling and how can you use it to build your client relationships? November 27, 2017 | City Talk “I don’t connect with clients on social media.” That’s the response many investment advisers give when I ask what they're doing around social. It can feel uncomfortable to risk messing up and getting it wrong, and finance is an industry where compliance rules abound. Yet my advice is to focus on what can go right [...]
Pharmaceutical giant Merck picks London for new HQ November 27, 2017 Pharmaceutical giant Merck has chosen central London as the site of its new headquarters. The company’s hub will be home to 150 new researchers, and 800 additional staff. Merck’s other European clinical operations will also move to the site from the company’s current headquarters in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. The American pharmaceutical business has started to look [...]
M7 cancels IPO of its real estate investment trust which would have been the largest this year November 24, 2017 M7 Real Estate, a firm which invests in commercial property around Europe, has today cancelled the planned float of its new investment trust on the London Stock Exchange. The M7 Multi-Let Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), which was set to invest in UK commercial property, aimed to raise £300m in a stock market listing which [...]
Philip Hammond has failed to improve the Tory party’s chances of electoral survival November 24, 2017 This was an elastoplast Budget. Its purpose was to cover the deepening gash in the Conservative party, give Philip Hammond’s reputation time to heal, and keep out germs hurled by the opposition benches. In this regard, it mostly worked. Read more: The Budget was a valiant attempt at an impossible balancing act The £3bn worth [...]
How to have productive conflicts and manage stress at work November 23, 2017 | City Talk Are you feeling overwhelmed, and reacting out of emotion instead of logic? Taking just one minute can get you out of the cycle of unproductive thoughts. Grab hold of something, whether it’s your coffee mug, a pen, or whatever you have nearby. Close your eyes and focus on what the object feels like. Move it [...]
Servelec shares shoot up as former Biffa owner Montagu Private Equity makes a £224m bid November 23, 2017 London-listed software company Servelec has seen its shares rocket by more than 20 per cent this morning, as it received a £224m offer from private equity firm Montagu. Servelec, which serves the healthcare, social care, education, oil and gas and energy and utilities sectors with hardware and software, has recommended that shareholders accept Montagu's offer. [...]
Autumn Budget 2017: Hammond changes corporate capital gains tax rules November 22, 2017 Corporation tax was maintained at 19 per cent in today's budget, however, the chancellor announced chances to the way companies' chargeable gains are calculated. The corporate indexation allowance allows for the effects of inflation when calculating the chargeable gains of companies or organisations. Philip Hammond announced today that the indexation allowance will be frozen from [...]
How the Budget could affect your personal finances, and what you should do if it does November 22, 2017 Philip Hammond hasn’t got it easy. Putting a Budget together is difficult at the best of times, but with Brexit looming large over the UK, producing a financial plan for our economy is now a hell of a lot harder. In such an uncertain time, how can Hammond hope to offer the stability the [...]