What happens to the markets if America goes to war? August 31, 2017 | City Talk The stock market hates uncertainty, and there is plenty of uncertainty with respect to the tensions over the latest round of North Korean missile tests. This post, originally published 13 September 2013, focused on the violence in the Middle East, specifically Syria, and the potential that the United States could enter the conflict and [...]
It’s official: A £90m Knightsbridge flat is the most expensive home on record August 31, 2017 The £90m purchase of an apartment in Knightsbridge is the most expensive residential property transaction ever recorded by the Land Registry, it turns out. Capital FM owner Ashley Tabor bought the massive four-bedroom penthouse flat at 199 Knightsbridge in April this year, with plans to knock it through into the apartment he owns next door [...]
Big Data will make or break the businesses of the next decade August 31, 2017 To survive the next decade, businesses will need to be able to utilise Big Data. Buzzword or not, it’s probably the most important feature of the fourth industrial revolution, a new economic asset that will define the near future of commercial evolution. Structured data has been used by companies for a long time, but Big [...]
Global professional services firm EY grows its UK footprint with Edinburgh expansion August 30, 2017 | City Talk Professional services firm EY is expanding its presence in Edinburgh by taking 32,000 sqft. in the prestigious Atria development. EY is the largest professional services firm in Scotland, employing 1,000 people across four offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. In total, there are 34 partners in Scotland, 15 of them working in the financial [...]
Here’s how much property prices will rise in the next 10 years August 30, 2017 Property prices are being tipped to soar over the next decade, even if they continue to increase at the sluggish rate experienced since Brexit. House prices have risen by 0.37 per cent each month since the referendum – compared with 0.67 a month during the preceeding year. If the current rate of growth were to [...]
Initiatives focused on ESG reporting are making progress, but there is more to do August 29, 2017 | City Talk It is frequently acknowledged that investors should identify and analyse any environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors that could impact the value creation and risk profile of companies and integrate these factors into their investment process. Evidence supporting the relevance of this type of information for investors continues to grow — see, for example, [...]
Should investors be worried about an ETF bubble? August 29, 2017 Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have stormed the markets in recent years, which is hardly surprising when you consider the shedload of criticism the active management industry has faced over its failure to provide value. It’s clear that investors have been turning their backs on mutual funds and flocking to cheaper passive products – like ETFs – [...]
How to tackle the PR challenge facing Uber’s Travis Kalanick August 27, 2017 Controversial former Uber chief Travis Kalanick has hired Teneo BlueRubicon to "refresh his tarnished image", according to reports. Though I can’t see confirmation on the record from either Kalanick or Teneo in the sources I’ve read, no denial from either party suggests a grain of truth. Real news or fake news, it makes the news [...]
Debunking the peer-to-peer lending myths August 24, 2017 There's no doubt that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has divided opinion. On one side, there’s a cohort of people who have nothing but praise for the sector’s ability to offer solid returns and raise investment for businesses. But P2P has also been plagued by criticism, with some high profile names claiming that it’s a disaster [...]
How does ‘Purposeful Capitalism’ influence risk management? August 23, 2017 | City Talk Purposeful Capitalism describes an evolution of capitalism wherein the investment industry becomes more professional, ethical, and client-centric. The scenario detailed in the Future State of the Investment Profession study examines ways in which organisations may evolve with greater focus placed on transforming culture; the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors; and their [...]