London tech startups head on Brexit trade mission to France with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan October 23, 2017 The Mayor of London is leading a delegation of top tech startups to Paris to rustle up investment interest from across the channel and bolster innovation ties between the two cities. Entrepeneurs from Smartzer, a platform which can make online video shoppable, pregnancy health app Baby2Body and Realeyes, which uses technology to read emotional reactions [...]
China’s paradoxical growth plan is still attractive for global funds: Why President Xi’s pursuit of unity as well as expansion is working for now October 23, 2017 | City Talk When President Xi first gained the position of President of China five years ago there was considerable western enthusiasm. He came across as a keen reformer willing to push on with China’s enterprise revolution. He wanted to open China’s markets more to the west, to liberalise foreign exchange, privatise more industry and even introduce more [...]
Small construction firms warn growth is grinding to a halt due to material price hikes and a skills shortage October 23, 2017 Price hikes and skills shortages are putting the brakes on growth at the UK’s small building firms. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB), Britain’s largest construction trade association, will today warn growth among small construction firms slowed in most parts of the UK in the third quarter of 2017. Despite the slowdown, the third quarter [...]
We’re switching on the superfast Square Mile and connecting the City to the future October 23, 2017 We’ve all been there before, when our internet connection drops out or is constantly buffering. That is why it is hardly surprising that London ranks twenty-sixth out of 33 European capitals in terms of broadband speed. Two decades ago, in 1997, wifi was invented and first released for consumers at a speed of two megabits [...]
DEBATE: Will the euro survive as a currency long term? October 23, 2017 Will the euro survive as a currency long term? Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, says YES. The euro will survive long term for two reasons. First, even though it currently does not create economic convergence among its member states, as it was set out to do, divorce is very hard [...]
The London Token Fundraising Manifesto October 23, 2017 Four chilling words, “A spectre is haunting”, unite Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and the Communist Manifesto of 1848 with free market adherents and cryptocurrency libertarians 169 years later. The spectre is that “smart ledger” technology may fall prey to incompetency or fraud because of a token and coin investment bubble driven by a combination of [...]
Trading app Bux launches Seedrs round to create a “millennial financial brand” complete with cryptocurrency app October 23, 2017 Bux, a trading app designed for the younger generation, has today launched a crowdfunding round on Seedrs after completing a €10.6m (£8m) series C round from institutional investors. The company, which aims to be a “millennial financial brand”, wants to expand its current trading community while also launching a stock trading app and a cryptocurrency [...]
UK GDP growth to edge higher as economists forecast a lacklustre end to 2017 as Brexit jitters curb investment October 23, 2017 GDP growth is set to come in at 0.3 per cent for the third quarter when figures are published on Wednesday. That would mark the third consecutive quarter at that rate, after the first and second quarters marked the weakest six-month performance since the first half of 2012. And economists are forecasting a lacklustre end [...]
UK cabinet minister Sajid Javid proposes government borrowing to kick-start housebuilding October 22, 2017 Housing secretary Sajid Javid has made a bold pitch to chancellor Philip Hammond ahead of next month’s Budget, arguing that the government should borrow billions of pounds to fund the infrastructure needed to boost Britain’s supply of new homes. Speaking at the start of a separate eight-week review into the process of buying and selling [...]
Budget 2017: Government told to show restraint on EIS tax relief for startup investment in Patient Capital Review October 22, 2017 The government has been warned not to crack down on tax breaks for investors betting on early stage companies amid a major review into funding. The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) faces an uncertain future as the Treasury is reportedly considering clamping down on the tax-relief scheme which is designed to encourage investment in startups. Read [...]