Scooters in the City: A quick way to kill your credibility September 2, 2016 In this sprawling metropolis, it’s not often you notice the same person twice outside of your normal routine. But nearly every morning I see this same chap: well groomed, early 30s, nicely cut suit – you know the type. In fact you might even be him, or umpteen others like him. He wouldn’t stand out among the [...]
When it comes to old boys’ clubs, investment banks are far from the worst. But it may be time to launch a brown shoe revolution September 2, 2016 Footwear is not traditionally a City issue, but in recent months it has become something of a sticking point. First, there was high heels-gate, in which a PwC receptionist was sent home for refusing to wear a heel (PwC has since pointed out, quite reasonably, it had no quarrel with the height of the receptionist’s [...]
London tech startup and Visa partner on blockchain – and want banks’ help September 1, 2016 A London-based blockchain startup has partnered with pay giant Visa and will start testing the technology to make cross-border payments. It's the latest collaboration between an established financial services firm and a startup to experiment with the distributed ledger technology which experts believe could reduce costs and speed up transactions. Read more: These big banks are [...]
The City must find a way to back more women with venture capital funding September 1, 2016 The UK is pretty dedicated when it comes to startup funding, with £1 in every £3 of government spending now being invested in small business. But women are still drawing the short straw when they seek out the capital needed to kick-start their businesses. Shockingly, female startups receive just three per cent of total funding [...]
Toscafund is determined to have the last word in spat with Speedy Hire September 1, 2016 The carousel of increasingly aggressive shareholder circulars between activist investor Toscafund and the board of Speedy Hire is still spinning. The two parties are currently skirmishing ahead of an extraordinary general meeting set for next Friday (9 September) where Tosca intends to again call for changes among the top brass at the firm – something Speedy is dead set against. After Speedy [...]
Read like an investment banker: 11 titles from Goldman Sachs’ back to school book list September 1, 2016 If you've ever wanted to get into the mindset of an investment banker, here's one thing that can help (besides avoiding brown shoes): Goldman Sachs has just published its annual back to school reading list. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Bill Gates, the list is compiled by some of the bank's most senior people [...]
Standard Chartered appoints HSBC bigwig Paul Skelton as global head of banking September 1, 2016 Standard Chartered has appointed former HSBC bigwig Paul Skelton as global head of banking. Skelton will start his role in December, reporting to Simon Cooper, chief executive of corporate and institutional banking, and will be based in Singapore. In his newly created position, Skelton will be responsible for Standard Chartered’s large corporate and financial institution client relationships. Cooper [...]
No free lunch: The alternative investment lifestyle explained September 1, 2016 “Alternative investing is a chance to take a bit of a gamble with the spare change you have left over at the end of the month”. “It’s an easy way to invest a little in a business at the start and see massive returns when it floats five years later with no effort required”. “It’s [...]
What does the future hold for mutant equity crowdfunding? September 1, 2016 For the first time since the industry emerged in 2011, according to Beauhurst data, the number of successful equity crowdfunding campaigns fell in the first half of this year. It is therefore an appropriate moment to reassess what the sector’s future may look like. Equity crowdfunding platforms have a simple business model: they enable companies to raise [...]
How not to make a dog’s dinner of your business lunch September 1, 2016 City A.M. recently declared the death of the business lunch, after research showed two thirds of Brits have seen a decline in the number of professional restaurant rendezvous. This is unsurprising, given our heavy workloads and the fashion of spending much of our time talking via email. While we may not have the professional inclination to [...]
