AIM high: At 25, the junior index is coming of age July 7, 2020 In June, AIM turned 25 years old. The index has passed its somewhat risky youth and maturity is treating it well. With stripped-down regulatory and governance requirements, the junior exchange has, over the past 25 years, offered companies an easier platform to raise capital. As the London Stock Exchange puts it, “AIM helps founders and [...]
London needs a homebuilding kickstart package, with social housing at its heart July 7, 2020 The government’s economic statement tomorrow is an opportunity for the chancellor to put building new homes at the heart of a plan to kickstart the recovery and help Britain bounce back after coronavirus. To achieve this, we need to see much more than Boris Johnson set out in his speech in Dudley last week. A [...]
COP26 has been delayed, but the City’s charge against climate change continues July 6, 2020 Businesses and households across the world have been hit hard by Covid-19, but as we move to the next phase of recovery from the pandemic, it is vital that we keep the fight against climate change top of the agenda. That’s why last week, to mark London Climate Action Week, we announced a major summit [...]
Lessons from lockdown: Advertising’s future is distributed July 6, 2020 Sometimes an earthquake’s aftershocks are so severe, the main quake is re-designated a foreshock. From a commercial standpoint, we look ahead to lockdown’s aftershocks with apprehension, but look ahead we must. As the dust settles, business leaders are surveying a new landscape and asking, what’s changed? Speaking for my own business, the recent crisis is [...]
Rolling up our sleeves for education: Addressing the most important challenge of the 21st century July 6, 2020 Around the world, 1.5bn children were forced out of their classrooms overnight by Covid-19. School closures required families and schools to readjust to new learning environments. And while some families made a seamless transition from school to homeschool, a disproportionate number of children from underserved communities faced another hurdle to receiving a basic education. Simple [...]
Act now to save free trade July 6, 2020 Free trade is a cornerstone of the global economy. It has lifted billions out of poverty and enabled the highest living standards than at any point in human history. It is therefore worrying — although not surprising given the impact of coronavirus on economic activity — that we have seen a stark drop in global [...]
Russia remains dangerous, but don’t confuse it for a superpower July 6, 2020 It is one of those news stories where the incident perfectly fits the larger political risk profile. During the past week, the New York Times reported that a Russian military intelligence unit paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants in 2019 to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. One imagines the reasoning for this was to decisively derail [...]
For the sake of our economy and our culture, we need to save London’s theatres July 3, 2020 Tomorrow, large parts of London’s economy will start to reopen. Pubs and restaurants will fling wide their doors, hotels will begin to welcome guests, and museums and art galleries will once more be open for business. But not all of London will be switching back into gear. Live performances are still banned, placing immense pressure [...]
Commuting in the post-Covid world July 3, 2020 It’s a cliche to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything — we need to get over this and embrace “the new normal”. But change needs more than an embrace: it needs to be understood and thought-through, not rushed into headlong because everyone else is doing it. And nowhere is such consideration more necessary [...]
DEBATE: Is it time to get back to the office? July 3, 2020 Is it time to get back to the office? Rod Flavell, chief executive of FDM Group, says YES. The lockdown measures were a necessary step in tackling the virus, but it’s time to get our economy moving again. Millions of workers have now been at home for several months, and while web conferencing has served [...]