Making his mark on Mediacom UK: Meet chief executive Josh Krichefski February 6, 2017 I’m waiting in the lobby of MediaCom’s home in Holborn to meet Josh Krichefski; a six storey hive, buzzing with the to-and-fro of a thousand-strong population, tied together by a dominating atrium. Expecting to head straight to the executive suite on the top floor, his assistant instead guides me to the second: “he likes to [...]
The irony of the filter bubble for advertisers is bittersweet February 6, 2017 "Algorithm" became a dirty word in 2016; few know what one is, fewer know how one actually works. Sure sounds scary though. “Filter bubble” can be added to that list, the latter a product of the former. The notion that social media algorithms nurture confirmation bias through reflecting self-affirming views, and therefore prejudice, is rife. [...]
British business leaders urge government to improve the UK’s lagging infrastructure February 6, 2017 Two thirds of British business leaders think that the UK’s infrastructure is worse than other developed economies, according to a Lloyds Bank survey released today. Only 8 per cent of the 77 boardroom-level executives who responded thought that the national infrastructure of the UK was better than that of other countries. The results of the [...]
Costs rise and margins fall on the back of the weaker pound according to a survey of 1,500 businesses by the BCC February 6, 2017 The recent fall in the value of sterling is increasing the cost base of UK businesses and squeezing sales margins, according to the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) latest International Trade Survey published today. More than two thirds of the 1500 businesses surveyed in conjunction with moneycorp expect the fall in the value of sterling [...]
Brian Winterflood: The broker who has helped shape the City over 60 years, including by blocking 2000 first exchange merger attempt February 6, 2017 With not long to go before the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse find out whether their third formal attempt to merge is successful, it was perhaps bold of Xavier Rolet, the French boss of the UK company, to invite Brian Winterflood to open the market last week. Celebrating his 80th birthday and retirement from the [...]
Jeremy Corbyn is wrong: The system isn’t rigged February 6, 2017 Jeremy Corbyn began the new year embarking on something of a rebrand, with aides describing how the Labour leader would move to emulate Donald Trump. This wasn't about any policy shifts, rather the strategy was to borrow from the US President's playbook of straight-talking, honest-tweeting, anti-establishment positioning. It's an approach that sees Corbyn and his [...]
War with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions is now a very real possibility February 6, 2017 Such is the concern about the mad, cruel, despotic regime of Kim Jong-Un of North Korea that an internet falsehood recently spread that sounded just crazy enough to be true. According to the apocryphal tale, the untested Kim – chafing under the patronising tutelage of his uncle, Jang Song-thaek – decided he had had enough. [...]
London is a monument to the benefits of openness and internationalism February 6, 2017 "London is open”. This much-publicised campaign, launched by mayor of London Sadiq Khan and garlanded with column inches and broadcast coverage, is doing a great job of communicating the fact that the world’s greatest city wants nothing to do with the protectionism that seems to be appearing elsewhere in the world. We stand as a [...]
Well-meaning state interventions are making childcare increasingly unaffordable for many parents February 6, 2017 A couple of weeks ago an all-party Parliamentary Group report warned that many nursery schools may have to close, and called for a financial bailout from our beleaguered government. It was only the latest demand for extra state spending: in the last few months the CBI, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Welsh government, the [...]
Karma Group’s founder and chairman John Spence explains how and why he plans to double the size of his business February 6, 2017 I cleaned toilets in Gatwick Airport for a bit, but that’s the only real job I’ve ever had,” says John Spence, founder and chairman of The Karma Group. A university drop-out, the hotelier and resort-owner originally became a tea boy for a music agency. Before long, he was representing bands like Culture Club, Bananarama and [...]