London’s fintech boom helps drive record year for US investment November 18, 2019 US venture capital firms have pumped record amounts of money into London and UK companies this year as flourishing fintech firms continue to charm investors, new data has revealed. American investors have been involved in $4.4bn (£3.4bn) worth of deals into UK firms so far in 2019, with London businesses accounting for more than three-quarters [...]
Will the Tories win the General Election? It’s all in the mind November 15, 2019 What can psychology tell us about the result of the General Election? Voting is irrational. You probably don’t need me to tell you that, seeing how crazy the political world has become recently. But it is an established principle in psychology, and it’s called the Paradox of Voting. Think about it. Why bother to vote [...]
Private Equity firm 3i posts 10 per cent return November 14, 2019 Listed private equity firm 3i has reported an increased half-year return of 10 per cent, boosted by good trading performance across its portfolios. The company notched up a total return of £767m for the first six months of the year, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year’s figure. Read more: Cobham buyer Advent [...]
Retraining course: The case for lifelong learning November 14, 2019 As the General Election race heats up, it was great to see the focus on adult skills and further education among the first announcements to be made by both the Liberal Democrats and the Labour party this week. Given that this area is often an afterthought by policymakers and politicians, long may this renewed focus [...]
DEBATE: Is ‘Equal Pay Day’ a valid part of the gender pay-gap debate? November 14, 2019 Is ‘Equal Pay Day’ a valid part of the gender pay-gap debate? Vivienne Artz, president of the industry networking group Women in Banking & Finance, says YES. What gets measured gets done. Equal Pay Day is calculated annually from the UK government’s datasets on the gender pay gap, and effectively represents the day each year [...]
Has WeWork destroyed SoftBank’s credibility? November 13, 2019 | Sponsored By John Colley at Warwick Business School Why is Japanese investment firm SoftBank investing a further $8 billion into WeWork, even though the office rental company is now valued at just $8 billion, and buying out founder Adam Neumann at a further cost of $1.7 billion? Forgetting SoftBank’s previous sunk investments in WeWork – which [...]
Is Mark Barnett repeating Neil Woodford’s mistakes? November 13, 2019 A little over a year ago, many would have argued that following in the footsteps of Neil Woodford was a positive move. Now, after the recent scandal around the infamous fund manager and the collapse of his investment empire, most people would likely argue the complete opposite. Trust has been shaken, and investors are understandably [...]
Banks are under threat – and this time it’s personal November 13, 2019 The launch of Uber Money, which provides payment and banking services to the company’s drivers, is an example of the next big trend in banking — the rise of the so-called “non-bank”. The establishment of a financial product for non-banks goes beyond simple revenue growth. It is about establishing loyalty, and in the case of Uber, loyalty [...]
Why pursuing my side hustle as a rally car driver helped me get promoted November 13, 2019 I expected my professional career to stall when I became a part-time rally car driver — but in fact, the opposite occurred. I have now worked at EY for a decade, and have been a rally car co-driver for nearly 17 years, managing a dual career with competing priorities. Shortly into my role as a [...]
FTSE 100 on track to meet target for women on boards November 13, 2019 The FTSE 100 is on track to meet a target of 33 per cent for women on boards by 2020, a government-backed report published today showed. However, a “step change” is still needed to boost the number of women in senior leadership roles at FTSE 350 companies, the Hampton-Alexander Review report said. Unless half of [...]
