China official warns over foreign takeovers as figures show outbound M&A levels have fallen this year March 20, 2017 China’s foreign exchange regulator has issued a warning over foreign takeovers. And Chinese companies appear to have slowed down their foreign takeover ambitions this year, following a bumper 2016. New Dealogic figures show that there has been a fall in the number of outbound Chinese deals, from 162 at this point last year to 134 [...]
Carillion has won a £90m contract to build a communications centre in Cyprus for the UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation March 20, 2017 Carillion has won a £90m contract to design and build a new communications centre in Cyprus. The UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) awarded Carillion the contract to build a 10,000 square metre building with temperature and humidity controlled environments. Construction will begin next month, and the project is due to be completed by the end of January [...]
Former chancellor George Osborne defends his Evening Standard role in the House of Commons March 20, 2017 Former chancellor George Osborne has come out in defence of his new role as editor of the Evening Standard, arguing parliament is "enhanced" by such opportunities. Labour tabled an urgent question calling on the government to asses the functioning of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) and the Ministerial Code following Osborne's appointment. The former chancellor submitted [...]
FBI director confirms agency is investigating links between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign March 20, 2017 FBI director James Comey has confirmed the security agency is investigating allegations that Russia had an influence over President Trump's campaign ahead of last year's election, and revealed the probe began last July. Comey was testifying to the US House of Representatives intelligence committee, along with National Security Agency director Admiral Mike Rogers. It is unusual [...]
Spy partner GCHQ reveals the name of its new leader March 20, 2017 GCHQ, the government agency accused by Donald Trump's administration of spying on him, has revealed who will take over as its new head. Jeremy Fleming, the deputy director general of MI5 since 2013, has been appointed by foreign secretary Boris Johnson to take over from Robert Hannigan as the director of GCHQ this Easter. Read more: US makes [...]
Roboshop: How Morrisons is using artificial intelligence to stock its shops March 20, 2017 Morrisons is using artificial intelligence to stock its stores in a bid to improve efficiency and customer service. The supermarket is rolling out a system from tech firm Blue Yonder that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict exactly what is needed in each of Morrisons' 491 stores. Read more: Amazon is looking for [...]
Lloyds Banking Group hires Professor Russel Griggs to oversee its HBOS Reading scandal review March 20, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group has appointed Professor Russel Griggs to oversee the independent review into the HBOS Reading scandal. Two ex-HBOS bankers were among six people jailed back in February for their roles in a ruse to drive small businesses into the ground for personal gain, running up nearly £250m in losses for the bank which had to [...]
How does a city like New York tackle renewable energy storage? March 20, 2017 Sustainable CUNY has published a roadmap through which they believe it is possible for New York City to reach its energy storage targets, utilising resilient solar technology. Resilient solar differs from traditional solar in that it can function during normal grid operations, but also when the electric grid is down. The model has been fitted [...]
Many PRs don’t understand how influencers work. That must change. March 20, 2017 As someone who works in the PR industry and also runs a football culture blog, I have seen “influencer marketing” from both sides. Building on my recent City A.M. post on the growth of microinfluencers, here are my insights on where PRs go wrong and how they can work better with influencers. Most PR [...]
Opec cuts are unlikely to lift oil prices above $60 a barrel this year, Apicorp report says March 20, 2017 Oil prices have edged lower by more than one per cent today while a new report suggests Opec's production cuts are unlikely to bump prices above $60 a barrel this year. Global benchmark Brent crude fell as low as $51.01 a barrel this morning while West Texas Intermediate slipped to $47.84. The new lows come on [...]