New venture capital fund Sure Ventures is listing in London for £3.3m, to focus on fintech, internet of things, augmented reality and virtual reality January 19, 2018 London’s public market has welcomed a new venture capital fund to its ranks this morning, as Sure Ventures listed for £3.3m. Sure is set to focus on companies which develop augmented reality, virtual reality, fintech and internet of things (IoT) products. Managed by Shard Capital, which also runs funds under the names of Rubrics Asset [...]
More restaurant chains could close stores after poor Christmas sales January 19, 2018 Christmas trading was disappointing at Britain’s restaurant and pub groups, with sales slightly down on 2016. Like-for-like sales declined 0.1 per cent against the previous year’s festive period, according to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. Drinks-led businesses fared better than restaurants and gastro pubs, with drinks sales up 1.8 per cent across pubs while food [...]
Populists have hijacked the concept of ‘inequality’ for their own political aims January 19, 2018 Jeremy Corbyn’s rise in power and popularity has gone hand-in-hand with an increased focus on inequality – a word that, these days, has fully negative connotations. According to the Momentum brigade, “neoliberalism” has created an impenetrable divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots”, the fat cat boss versus the company’s janitorial staff, the tech entrepreneur [...]
Forget the fearmongering and embrace the internet of things January 19, 2018 Has your smart refrigerator been infected by a strain of zombie malware? Or maybe spies have been listening to you via your networked alarm? For some reason, the idea of connected devices – a vital part of the internet of things (IoT) – has sent the imaginations of some organisations into overdrive. Last February, Germany’s [...]
Debate: In light of beating its expansion target, can China sustain its ambitious growth? January 19, 2018 In light of beating its expansion target, can China sustain its ambitious growth? Dr Savvas P Savouri, chief economist and partner at Toscafund Asset Management, says YES. It has become something of a tradition at this time of year for people to call the top to China’s growth. The precise explanation for why we should [...]
Eddie Jones pours scorn on Ireland’s Six Nations chances and talks up England’s hopes of third successive crown January 18, 2018 England head coach Eddie Jones insisted that it would be foolish to write off his side’s chances of a third successive Six Nations title after announcing his squad for the championship opener against Italy. Shorn of 13 players through injury and suspension, Jones has named eight uncapped rookies in his 35-man party for the showdown [...]
Emmanuel Macron tells Theresa May there will be no special Brexit deal for the City January 18, 2018 French President Emmanuel Macron tonight reiterated his tough stance on financial services access to the EU market after Brexit, saying there would be no special deal for the City. Macron said there can be “no differentiated access to financial services” for nations outside the EU, and that the UK would have to choose between the [...]
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable uses parliamentary privilege to name Santander UK boss Nathan Bostock as “responsible” for RBS GRG’s strategy January 18, 2018 Former business secretary Vince Cable has used parliamentary privilege to allege that the current chief executive of Santander UK, Nathan Bostock, was “responsible” for the behaviour of the global restructuring group at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The Liberal Democrat leader also said senior management at RBS knew or should have known about alleged unethical [...]
China’s economy surprises with growth of 6.9 per cent in year Xi cemented power January 18, 2018 China grew faster than expected during 2017, surprising analysts who had expected the gradual slowing of the world’s second-largest economy to continue. GDP grew by 6.9 per cent over the course of the last year, the first increase in the country’s growth rate since 2010, according to government data published today. The economy grew by [...]
Banks launch £225m Carillion emergency fund after government task force “challenge” | City A.M. January 18, 2018 Three of Carillion’s former lenders today made £225m of assistance available to small businesses hit by the collapse of the insolvent contractor. HSBC opened a £100m fund, Royal Bank of Scotland made £75m available and Lloyds launched £50m of help, it was announced this evening. After Carillion’s collapse on Monday morning, the government stepped in [...]