Piercing the bitcoin veil: Businesses should beware the risks of trading with a sanctioned entity February 3, 2016 In January the EU and the US lifted economic and financial sanctions against Iran in a ground-breaking deal that unfroze billions of pounds of assets and opened up new markets for the first time since 2010. Despite the fanfare surrounding the deal, in the small print a warning remains: some EU and US financial sanctions [...]
European Commission clamping down on anonymous bitcoin transactions to curb terrorism financing February 3, 2016 The EU wants to put an end to anonymous bitcoin transactions in a bid to track terrorism financing. The European Commission has published an action plan for tackling terror groups’ funding, admitting authorities are struggling to keep up as criminals quickly adapt to new methods of moving money with less risk of being detected. "New [...]
The efficiency paradox: How to improve every part of your business February 3, 2016 "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Managers today would do well to remember Aristotle’s teaching. In modern businesses, efficiency is often falsely equated with success, or over-emphasised as a means for achieving it. But the success of a business as a whole depends on more than beefing up, stripping down, or optimising [...]
Jeremy Corbyn could already be harming your investments February 3, 2016 Corbynmania may have reached a crescendo with the election of the Labour leader last year, but the ructions caused by this political phenomenon have not gone away. With Jeremy Corbyn taking an increasingly firm grip of the Party, reshuffling the shadow cabinet and looking to change Labour procedures to enable party members to have more [...]
UK government risks losing Lawrence of Arabia’s dagger and robes unless buyer found February 2, 2016 NULL
Made In Taiwan: As China’s growth slows, promising stocks lie across the Formosa Strait February 2, 2016 As China's earthquake rumbles on, the regional trading partners which have depended on its double digit growth for three decades are feeling the shocks. The Malaysian and Indonesian economies have suffered, but the manufacturing sectors in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are also inextricably tied to that of Asia’s largest economy. Exports account for 70 per [...]
Tech stocks: Can the FANGs survive the bloodsuckers? February 2, 2016 January was a blood bath for technology stocks, and even the well regarded FANG stocks – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google – copped it sweet for most of the month. Investors have been skittish around highly anticipated results. Facebook, down about 10 per cent at one point last month, soared to a record high post [...]
Should I leave the City for a startup? Nutmeg co-founder Nick Hungerford poses the five questions you really need to answer February 2, 2016 I'm often asked the question in this article’s headline and, with it, a question about timing: “I’m definitely getting out at some point, but is now the right time?”. This is usually followed by: “You know, I’ve just got engaged/pregnant/bought a house.” Before we go any further, let’s quash this myth. The reasons above are bad [...]