Where are the UK’s most powerful companies based? The FTSE 100 is more diverse than you think December 10, 2014 Conspiracy theorists may merrily refer to the "metropolitan elite", but it turns out that when it comes to the FTSE 100, the north-south divide is practically a myth: half of the companies on the index are based outside London, we've found, while others have made their homes all over the world Zoom out to see [...]
Ian McCafferty: Bank of England MPC hawk lists four reasons he votes for an interest rate-rise December 10, 2014 One of the Bank of England monetary policy committee's two resident hawks, Ian McCafferty, has explained his reasoning behind voting for an interest rate rise "sooner rather than later". During a speech at a breakfast organised by the Institute of Directors this morning, McCafferty explained why he's voted for voting for an interest rate rise [...]
These four charts show how much each region contributed to the UK’s economy last year December 10, 2014 George Osborne's dream of creating a “northern powerhouse” might have taken a step closer to coming true. Last year the North West and Wales had the biggest jump in gross value added (GVA) per head out of all the regions in the UK, with both up 3.4 per cent on the previous 12 months. [...]
FCA bosses give up their bonuses over insurance scandal December 10, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said today directors including Martin Wheatley, its chief executive, will give up their bonuses as a result of an investigation into a botched press briefing over insurance. The organisation said today that Wheatley, director of supervision Clive Adamson, director of communications and international Zitah McMillan and director of markets David [...]
Opec: Global oil demand will be even lower next year December 10, 2014 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has slashed its demand forecast for next year. Opec, which released its monthly report today, said demand would drop to 28.92m barrels per day in 2015, down 280,000 from its previous forecast. It said that waning growth in global consumption, as well as the US shale gas boom [...]
The rise of the machines? Shape-shifting robot viewers to cost marketers £4bn in fake traffic December 10, 2014 We're pretty used to hearing that robots are going to steal our jobs. But now it turns out that once they've done that, they're going to do exactly what we do anyway: sit around watching online videos. But this is actually a serious problem. Global advertisers stand to lose out on $6.3bn (£4bn) next [...]
There’s going to be a BBC theme park: Six things visitors could expect from a Sherlock, Doctor Who and Top Gear inspired attraction December 10, 2014 A BBC inspired theme park is set to launch after the corporation agreed a deal for its intellectual property to be used at a new £2bn entertainment resort in Kent. The BBC is letting Paramount Resort take inspiration from Auntie’s popular TV shows which could include Doctor Who, Top Gear and Sherlock. BBC Worldwide director [...]
Warren Buffett tops list of biggest charitable donations in 2014 December 10, 2014 Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is this year's most generous man, according to new research from Wealth-X, a research firm focusing on high net worth individuals. His $2.1bn (£1.3bn) donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in the form of 16.6m shares of his company Berkshire Hathaway, propelled Buffett to the top spot. Six of [...]
Is there ever an excuse to use PowerPoint in a presentation? December 10, 2014 Is there ever an excuse to use PowerPoint in a presentation? First of all, what is a presentation? It’s not a pitch. Pitches and presentations are different things. A pitch is a courtship – the (hopeful) beginning of a relationship. A presentation is the transfer of knowledge, facts, data etc within an existing relationship. [...]
Manchester City’s £200m City Football Academy development signals new holistic approach in pursuit of success December 10, 2014 In Manchester City’s annual report for the 2013-2014 season, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak professed that “we are never focused only on our men’s first team”. On Monday City officially revealed just how much attention it has been paying to other areas of the club with the opening of its new £200m youth development [...]