Number of employees enjoying job perks falls to 12-year low July 22, 2019 Corporate cost cutting has pushed the number of people receiving major job perks to a 12-year low, according to research. The number of employees who receive taxable job perks such as company cars, private medical insurance and staff accommodation fell 3.6m last year. Read more: Google UK employees earned £226,000 on average last year The [...]
ii view: Microsoft results put shares in the clouds July 19, 2019 | City Talk By Keith Bowman from interactive investor. Technology behemoth Microsoft is now far more than Windows and Word, evidenced by latest results. Fourth-quarter results ending 30 June 2019 Revenue up 12 per cent to $33.7 billion Operating income up 20 per cent to $12.4 billion Returned $7.7 billion to shareholders Chief executive Satya Nadella said: “It was a record [...]
School’s out for summer: Time for working parents to grapple with the childcare conundrum July 19, 2019 For many parents, the summer holidays are a mix of joy and anxiety
David Attenborough and the Queen remain British public’s most admired figures July 18, 2019 The people have spoken, and they remain unmoved: David Attenborough and the Queen have emerged as Britain’s most admired public figures for the second year running. According to an annual Yougov poll, the documentary maker is far-and-away the most admired man in the UK, romping to victory with the backing of a quarter of voters. [...]
Hotel Chocolat shares worth even more than this July 18, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. They’re hardly cheap, but shares in this fast-growing chocolatier could go higher still. At a time when many retailers are finding trading tough, Hotel Chocolat Group (LSE:HOTC) continues to make light work of justifying its punchy stock market valuation. The chain, which listed on AIM in 2016, produced more strong figures today as an [...]
Public speaking – why are we so scared of talking to a crowd? July 18, 2019 Public speaking. It is the stuff of nightmares. Standing in front of your peers, colleagues and managers, words that you’ve prepped for weeks rendered to a mere whisper. It’s incredible the number of senior professionals, business owners, chief executives and managers – highly intelligent, articulate, funny and above all inspiring people – who hate the [...]
Digital bank N26 valued at $3.5bn as it adds $160m onto its series D July 18, 2019 German fintech starlet N26 has upped its valuation to $3.5bn (£2.8bn), after extending its series D funding round to raise another $160m. The digital banking app has now raised a total of $470m in the round, which included investors such as Insight Venture Partners, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Tencent, Allianz X, Peter Thiel’s Valar [...]
Pension savings are being left in cash after M&G property fund blocks withdrawals July 17, 2019 M&G, which is owned by Prudential, insists that the deferral is not related to Brexit or the wider property market
Regulator investigates ‘shape-shifting’ firms who shirk duties on employee pensions July 17, 2019 The Pensions Regulator said today it will hunt down companies that change their names to dodge workplace pension obligations. Several small and medium-sized employers have tried to employ “shape-shifting” tactics to avoid paying their staff’s pensions, it said. Those breaching their auto-enrolment duties could be subject to “short-notice inspections”. Read more: Prudential UK property fund delays [...]
Stranger Things vs Mickey Mouse: How the media old guard is adapting to disruption July 17, 2019 | City Talk As I discussed earlier this month, disruption is everywhere (see Five things every investor needs to know about disruption). Incumbent companies have a choice: they can either deny the changes are happening, or they can adapt to the new regime. Faced with the seemingly inexorable rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, [...]
