Record levels of IT investment in 2017? You can bank on it, says report December 19, 2016 The banking sector will up its IT spend to an all-time high in 2017 as the gap between tech-savvy and Luddite lenders widens, according to a report released today. Embracing data and open banking are top priorities for banks the report by consultants Temenos and Capgemini revealed. The focus on technology comes a week after it was [...]
Protein’s Will Rowe talks early adopters, audience insights and brands “doing good” December 19, 2016 "I was a really bad web designer… that’s how it all started,” chuckles Will Rowe, founder and chief executive of Protein. We’re in his Shoreditch office, a space resembling the bedroom of my teenage dreams; a well trodden cow hide is stretched over the corrugated steel floor below shelves laden with volumes of glossy magazines. [...]
UK businesses now owe £1.8bn in late corporation tax – an increase of 15 per cent since 2015 December 19, 2016 More businesses are struggling to pay their tax bills, as the amount of overdue corporation tax owed to the taxman continues to rise. According to Funding Options, an online aggregator for small business finance, the total value of corporation tax payments in arrears has risen 15 per cent in the past year, from £1.59bn to [...]
Night czar Amy Lame: I want to make sure that everyone gets the kind of life at night they want – from raves to a good night’s sleep December 19, 2016 Amy Lame is impressively bright-eyed when she sits down with City A.M., considering she’s had a late one the night before at the DJ Mag awards. But then she is London’s new night czar. “I’m kind of used to it,” she tells City A.M. while finishing off a “very strong coffee”. “I’ve never had a nine [...]
The manufacturing industry had some of the biggest job losses across the UK economy last year December 19, 2016 The UK manufacturing industry recorded some of the biggest job losses last year, impacted by international competition and technological advances. According to accountancy group UHY Hacker Young, the industry had some of the biggest job losses of all sectors across the UK economy. Out of 69 sectors measured for job creation, manufacturing made up three of [...]
Union leaders are their own worst enemy December 19, 2016 As the country prepares to power down for Christmas, a number of trades unions are flexing their muscles and powering up their strike activity. As PWC’s Tom Kerr Williams notes, for unionised labour “a good time to react is at Christmas when most employers will be under pressure to keep customers happy”. One can't deny the [...]
Blame discredited elites for the decline and fall of the West in 2016 December 19, 2016 “The more I practice the luckier I get.” – Golfing great Gary Player In essence, political risk analysis is like nothing so much as American baseball: there is an undoubted element of chance to the game and even the best player strikes out with soul-destroying regularity. Saying this, it is not dumb luck that the legendary [...]
City firms are preparing for the worst from Brexit – but hoping for the best December 19, 2016 Well, what a year 2016 has proven to be. The UK is preparing to leave the European Union; the US – one of the world’s largest importers – is preparing to welcome a protectionist President; while impending elections in France and Germany could potentially deliver political earthquakes. It will certainly go down in the history [...]
Why rising longevity threatens to kill off the traditional City of London pay pyramid December 19, 2016 Many professional service and financial firms operate a pay pyramid – those at the top earn large multiples of those lower down the organisation. Average partner salaries in the Big Four accounting firms, for instance, are around £750,000 but around £40,000 for those starting out. Similar structures are found in law and finance. While undoubtedly [...]
Will allegations of Russian interference in the US election tarnish Donald Trump’s presidency? December 19, 2016 Brian Klaas, fellow in comparative politics at the London School of Economics, and author of The Despot’s Accomplice, says Yes. Republicans and Democrats agree that Russian hacking was used to help Donald Trump win the presidential election in November. While both Republicans and Democrats were hacked, only e-mails that would embarrass Hillary Clinton were released. [...]