Spotify is a sure hit as it pursues New York initial public offering January 31, 2018 With Spotify reportedly planning on floating on the New York Stock Exchange this spring, it’s a good time to look at how consumers view the brand in the UK. The music streaming service’s impact and growth over the past decade is impressive, all the more so as there haven’t been many global internet successes out [...]
DEBATE: Should we take the leaked Brexit impact assessments seriously? January 31, 2018 Should we take the leaked Brexit impact assessments seriously? Sir Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats and former secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, says YES. Any official document produced by the government to brief ministers has to be taken seriously, all the more so given that the impact assessment – which [...]
Democracy’s new dividing lines: Populist anger and polarisation January 31, 2018 The latest edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual Democracy Index reveals how new divisions are becoming entrenched in many of the world’s democracies. Democracy is facing a crisis today, at the root of which is an increasingly stark divide variously characterised as being between elites and electorates, experts and the people, insiders and outsiders, [...]
Confidence bounces back at the start of the year among UK citizens and businesses January 31, 2018 British consumers and businesses looked past inflation pressures on their pockets to start the year with a surprise increase in confidence, according to surveys to be published today. The long-running GfK measure of consumer confidence rose markedly from a negative reading of 13 – its lowest point in four years – in December to hit [...]
National Assembly for Wales tops Stonewall list of 100 LGBT-inclusive employers with Lloyds Banking Group and Citi on the list January 31, 2018 A number of City firms have made the cut in equality charity Stonewall’s latest ranking of the top 100 LGBT-inclusive employers out today. Citi, Pinsent Masons, Clifford Chance, Lloyds Banking Group and Baker McKenzie were all in the top 10, with legal firms again dominating the overall list. Read more: Lloyds Banking Group named most [...]
Mifid II was a compromise, but the UK will lead the way with Mifid III says politician Kay Swinburne January 30, 2018 The UK’s voice of the City in the European parliament, Conservative politician Kay Swinburne, has said that legislators are already planning to overhaul a massive new piece of regulation which came into force earlier this month. The second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or Mifid II, aims to increase transparency across all areas of financial [...]
BP’s invested in electric car charging startup FreeWire January 30, 2018 BP is turning to a tech startup, making an investment in the maker of mobile charging points for electric cars. The oil major is putting $5m (£3.5m) into FreeWire, a three-year-old San-Francicsco tech company, as part of a series A funding round with other investors via its corporate venture arm. Read more: Daimler has invested [...]
Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer to unveil £600m investment drive in China during Theresa May’s trade mission January 30, 2018 Aston Martin is set to unveil over £600m worth of investment deals in China this week, as it looks to drive up its presence in the booming auto market there. According to Sky News, several agreements will be revealed by Aston Martin boss Dr Andy Palmer, including the opening of 10 new showrooms in China. [...]
Airbus reveals 20 per cent gender pay gap at UK defence and space division citing high number of men in senior roles January 30, 2018 Airbus has revealed its gender pay gap in the UK, reporting a 20.4 per cent difference between the pay for its male and female staff at Airbus Defence and Space. The firm reported 20.4 per cent as its median gender pay gap in hourly pay – gauging the difference between the midpoints in the ranges [...]
Air pollution: London reaches annual legal air pollution limit less than a month into 2018 January 30, 2018 London has officially reached the UK’s legal air pollution limit for the entire year, according to live data from King’s College London. Under EU pollution rules, an individual site cannot break the hourly limit of 200 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air more than 18 times in a year. This year, the [...]