Tech firms need to grasp the chance to change their hiring January 30, 2021 The year 2020 will be remembered for a lot of reasons. It was, obviously, a challenging year, with many facing furlough and redundancies, as scores of businesses were forced to close their doors. The pandemic has hit the economy hard, and the UK’s jobs crisis is worsening each month. Worryingly, young people are the most [...]
Our commitment to Hongkongers shouldn’t stop with the visa programme January 30, 2021 On Sunday, the historic Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) visa programme will open; a fitting end to a week of celebrations and activism marking the 180th anniversary of the founding of modern Hong Kong. The scheme will allow Hongkongers who hold British National (Overseas) citizenship, an offer that was made to people who were [...]
GameStop: Get Shorty? The case for short sellers has never been stronger January 30, 2021 The meteoric rise of GameStop’s stock – which is seen by professional investors as having a business model appropriate for a bygone age – has been widely celebrated as a kind of “peasants’ revolt” of retail investors against the self-styled “masters of the universe” hedge fund suits. If sceptical short sellers could be broken on the wheel of [...]
Office Politics: Keeping staff sane in a world gone mad January 29, 2021 The past twelve months have made it impossible for most of us to work like we did before. What’s more, these lockdowns have made it apparent that working from home all of the time is tougher than many of us ever imagined. So how can employers truly support their teams to get through it and [...]
Insurance, disrupted: What does the start of 2021 tell us about the industry? January 29, 2021 We waited patiently for the new year. January was meant to be a fresh dawn, with many businesses embarking on transformation programmes to emerge stronger from the pandemic. But, looking at the economic and political events from this month, we see more disruption ahead. Particularly for insurance companies. Before founding OLIVER, I spent 15-years at Commercial [...]
Drax boss: We need to go further on carbon storage to hit net-zero commitments January 29, 2021 Tackling climate change requires global collaboration. As a UK-US sustainable energy company, with communities on both sides of the Atlantic, we at Drax are keenly aware of the need for thinking that transcends countries and borders. Joe Biden becomes the 46th President of my native country at a crucial time, ensuring there is global leadership [...]
Pension funds will reap rewards from playing a part in the UK’s green drive January 28, 2021 In November, heads of state, climate experts and campaigners will come together in Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the biggest summit ever hosted by the UK, to discuss, and commit to, ambitious climate targets and concrete steps to protect our planet. International collaboration is essential, but the success of global action will comprise the [...]
Concrete changes can allow Britain’s digital firms to fly January 28, 2021 Britain’s technology entrepreneurs seem the last people who need any attention from Government right now. Valuations are soaring. IPOs are being lined up. Even as the pandemic constrains our daily lives, businesses that will deliver the jobs, growth and tax revenues of the future are thriving. But in the great global race to create and [...]
The Ring couldn’t rule: Why the LME is smart to go digital January 28, 2021 The London Metals Exchange (LME) proposal to shut its infamous ring may well have been accelerated by the pandemic, but the truth is that the end has been nigh for in-person commodities trading for sometime. As the tectonic plates of the trading world have shifted to the computer screen in equity markets, metals traders have [...]
Red Light: Why Streetscape decision is a speed bump to Mayor’s ambition January 28, 2021 As any local politician will tell you, how citizens get around is a fiercely important issue which can rumble for years without bursting into a crisis. For the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, however, that crisis has come, and low-level rumblings must now be addressed as a strategic problem. Last year, as lockdown and other [...]