It’s still cheaper to rent than buy a house in these UK cities May 18, 2017 So-called Generation Rent may complain bitterly about being forced to pay sky-high living costs, but a new study has found in many UK cities, it's actually cheaper to rent than it is to buy a home. The study, by Zoopla, found the average monthly rental cost in many of the UK's largest metropolitan hubs is [...]
What’s new for MiFID II? May 18, 2017 | City Talk With the start date for Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) fast approaching in January 2018, a renewed focus on implementation is gripping investment firms and market participants. Of particular interest are the issues relating to dark pools and high-frequency trading (HFT), topics on which CFA Institute has written before (see Takeaways on Best [...]
Party donors: Here are the biggest names bank-rolling the Conservative campaign May 18, 2017 As the Conservatives launched their policies today, the money behind the Tory manifesto was revealed. The Electoral Commission has published the names of party donors who have given more than £7,500 to a party between 3 May and 9 May, giving an insight into who wants Prime Minister Theresa May back in Number 10. Read [...]
Here are some things you didn’t know about GDPR, but you should May 17, 2017 | City Talk EU GDPR, the new data protection regulation that comes into effect next year, is still widely misunderstood. Here are some points about it that will help you to navigate the new landscape. Technically, GDPR has been in force since May last year. The date 25 May 2018 is when enforcement starts. This subtle but important [...]
Here’s how to turn EU GDPR compliance chores into business benefits May 11, 2017 | City Talk When the EU General Data Protection Regulation was announced last year, many business owners immediately panicked at the prospect of eye-watering fines and onerous obligations. But with almost a year left until it comes into force, the focus has shifted to how the process of becoming compliant could leave businesses better off. Safeguard GDPR was [...]
When you answer a question, don’t stick to the script May 4, 2017 BBC: "Do you know what a mugwump is?" PM: "What I recognise is that what we need in this country is strong and stable leadership." How I wish that Jeremy Paxman had handled this interview, which was broadcast by BBC Radio Derby last week. Would Paxman have launched a full offensive and asked May the [...]
Why do people pursue careers in finance? May 3, 2017 | City Talk Committing to an occupation that will consume 40 or more hours each week for decades is a fairly big decision. LinkedIn research shows that millennials will change jobs four times on average before they reach age 32, job-hopping twice as often as Gen Xers and much more than earlier generations. Each job decision has an [...]
Autonomous and connected vehicles: a view from Europe April 28, 2017 | City Talk I attended the first ever European Commission European Conference on Connected & Automated Driving (CAD) in early April. Next generation transportation and vehicle connectivity was the theme. The European Commission expect to see fully autonomous vehicles by 2040. This means Driverless vehicles. In October 2016 the Declaration of Amsterdam was signed by all 29 countries [...]
Fintech: what will bring the most change? April 28, 2017 | City Talk Fintech has increasingly captured the attention of the financial services industry over the past several years. Since I started writing on the topic about a year ago, the discussion has evolved from simply defining fintech to more involved narratives about its potential drawbacks. In that time, our focus on the subject has never wavered. Why? [...]
How to avoid the financial hit of a ransomware infection April 26, 2017 | City Talk It's one of the fastest-growing forms of cybercrime – and one of the most visible. Ransomware locks victims out of their valuable files and demands payment to release them, unlike other forms of malicious software that stay hidden and stole data. Ransomware has quickly grown to become one of the biggest cybercrime threats for businesses [...]