Boardrooms and ethnic diversity: finally, momentum? October 16, 2020 | City Talk Britain’s largest companies’ progress towards having more ethnically diverse management has been sluggish. But are things about to speed up? The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) began the month by revealing plans for a campaign aimed at boosting racial and ethnic participation in senior leadership. Alongside companies including Aviva and Microsoft, the CBI is preparing [...]
London fintechs secure billions from US investors despite virus and Brexit uncertainty October 16, 2020 London fintechs have secured $3.6bn in venture capital investment this year with more than half coming from US investors. Fintechs received $2.2bn, more than 60 per cent of overall investment, through funding rounds with at least one US investor, according to data from Dealroom and London & Partners. It is nearly double the US funding [...]
Actively inactive: Identifying tension in the UK labour market October 16, 2020 The Covid-19 crisis and resulting responses to curb the spread of infections has caused tension to form in pockets of the UK labour market. Given how important it is to tackle economic inactivity if we are to speed the UK’s recovery, it is vital that these new labour market dynamics are recognised, and that steps [...]
How UK business leaders can help Covid-hit female entrepreneurs in Africa October 15, 2020 How far does £40 get you? In the UK, and London especially, it might buy you a meal for two, take-out coffees for the month, or a nice cosy jumper to see you through the autumn and winter months. But in sub-Saharan Africa, such an amount could be life-changing. We’re not talking about hand-outs here, [...]
A message to Rishi from entrepreneurs: Forget tax hikes and let the go-getters get going October 15, 2020 Rishi Sunak certainly deserves praise for his response to the pandemic — so far. Because, as his recent statement to the Commons showed, the real test has only just begun. We have seen the chancellor take decisive action to avoid a bonfire of jobs, and he clearly has his eyes on the future. His speech [...]
The maths of why growth companies are beating value October 14, 2020 | City Talk One of the side effects of low interest rates is that, because of the way that companies are valued, investors place a higher value on companies (and investment projects) which have a low probability, high payoff, a long time in the future. This helps explain why investors have been prepared to pay up for loss-making [...]
The government’s ballet dancer ad missed the mark – but let’s not write off retraining October 14, 2020 On Monday, the government faced a great deal of backlash for promoting adverts encouraging retraining — suggesting, among other things, that an aspiring ballet dancer should retrain “in cyber”. Condemned for being tone-deaf and undermining the arts sector, the criticism mirrors a similar reaction to comments made by the chancellor last week, when he claimed [...]
DEBATE: Is the government right to be encouraging artists and dancers to retrain in tech? October 13, 2020 Is the government right to be encouraging artists and dancers to retrain in tech? Leon Emirali, an entrepreneur and adviser, says YES. At some point soon, we will be left with no choice but to face up to the uncomfortable truths of this pandemic. Covid-19 is re-writing the economic rules we’ve played by for so [...]
Has demand for oil already peaked? October 13, 2020 | City Talk Alternative energy sources to fossil fuels have been around for many years. Countries around the world are now harnessing the power of the wind, sun and tides to cut their dependence on fossil fuels such as oil. Energy transition However, this transition to renewable energy is now set to accelerate rapidly, driven by a number [...]
Can the UK’s post-Covid economy benefit from a booming medical cannabis industry? October 13, 2020 As the government tries desperately to salvage a shattered economy, an unlikely but profitable lifeline presents itself: medical cannabis. Cue tired old jokes about how the only way people have been able to cope with the disruption of the past six months is by getting stoned. Finished? Now listen — because the medicinal cannabis industry [...]
