Investors win as activism invades the boardroom May 3, 2016 Activist investors have become a fixture in capital markets over the last several years, causing many to raise questions about the long-term value of a style of investing that puts a premium on short-term gains. It’s a phenomenon S&P Global Market Intelligence has studied closely to better understand the relationship between activist investing and corporate [...]
The problem with Ukraine and Iraq isn’t Putin and Islamic State: It’s that both countries are basket cases May 3, 2016 “The gods help them that help themselves.” – Aesop When it comes to the seemingly intractable crises in both Ukraine and Iraq, a comforting, if wholly untrue, narrative has taken hold. The chaos that has laid low these two plucky, overmatched, but deserving states is entirely the fault of the world’s two most obvious Bond [...]
Forget Brexit: The real drivers of corporate decision-making lie way beyond Britain’s borders May 3, 2016 There has, understandably, been a great deal of attention paid to the EU referendum debate, both in the UK and in many other economies with an interest in sterling. But while the referendum is certainly a highly significant constitutional event, and one which warrants the attention it has been receiving, it is just one of [...]
Failure to tackle the scourge of rising rents will undermine London’s startup renaissance May 3, 2016 Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales once said that “in the US, Washington is politics, LA is Hollywood, San Francisco is tech, New York is advertising and finance, but London is all of those things.” If anything, he is selling our city short; throw in the culture of the city that shaped creative geniuses such as Charles [...]
As London goes to the polls this week, which mayoral candidate would be better for business? May 3, 2016 Karren Brady, businesswoman and Conservative peer, says Zac. The next mayor has to be able to work with this government, above all to deliver the infrastructure to cope with a growing population. It’s a scandal, for example, that Bank station – probably the most important tube station in the financial world – gets closed once a [...]
Why are car-makers getting the cold shoulder from investors? Well, why not? May 3, 2016 What is the most unloved sector in the global equity market? First off, you might think of oil, which is beset by huge oversupply imbalances despite the recent bounce inspired in great part by bullish financial speculators. Possibly you might plump for banks, which are seeing their net interest margins scythed by increasingly desperate central bankers [...]
Mobile working, flexible working, cloud-based working … is any of it actually working? April 29, 2016 Technology’s influence over the business world has caused an undeniable shift in the way modern professionals conducts their working lives. Cloud-based servers and remote desktop software has meant that employees can work efficiently from pretty much anywhere. So, many ask, can the physical office survive in the digital age? Perhaps unsurprisingly, I believe the office [...]
Do stock markets care about GDP? Maybe, but not in the way you might expect April 29, 2016 Looking across the western world, from the United Kingdom to the United States to the Eurozone, it is clear that domestic growth data has minimal immediate impact on stock markets. This morning, Eurozone GDP quite impressively beat expectations, but 10 minutes later, the Euro Stoxx 50 was lower. Within half an hour of the slowdown [...]
London mayoral election: Questions remain for the leading candidates April 29, 2016 London's mayoral election is less than a week away and, although the result will cause barely a ripple in financial markets, its implications for the capital's economy should not be downplayed. Khan and Goldsmith have both made pains to position themselves as pro-business, and London is lucky to have two candidates ostensibly in favour of [...]
Dobson fuels City’s spring of discontent April 29, 2016 Appearances can be deceptive. At first glance, yesterday’s vote on Michael Dobson’s accession to the chairmanship of Schroders resembled a conventional boardroom coronation – but then it would, wouldn’t it? Just 15 per cent of investors in the fund management group opposed his re-election to the board, but with 47 per cent of the company, [...]