Five things I learned (and relearned) in my first year as a VC May 31, 2016 1. Time is a brutal taskmaster You want to give everybody a fair crack of the whip but in truth you have to filter fast. The elevator pitch really does matter. If you, as a founder, can't communicate the essence of your proposition and your own skills quickly you won't cut through the noise. This filtering [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 31, 2016 It's the last day of May, people are back at their desks after a long weekend in the UK and the US and markets in New York are pointing up. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 14:30 London time. Ahead of the open the S&P is up by 0.04 [...]
Brexit not even close to the top spot in list of investors’ top concerns May 31, 2016 Retail investors are shrugging off concerns about the EU referendum, as they turn their attention to bigger events on the horizon. More than nine in ten investors said they could think of an issue which was more worrying than the possibility of Brexit, in new research from The Share Centre. Top of investors' minds was the Chinese [...]
The anatomy of a FTSE 100 chief executive: From education to where you should live May 31, 2016 Reaching the corner office may take a certain amount blood, sweat and tears – but new research has suggested that it may help if you have certain qualities. Whether it's your education, background or just where you live, the FTSE 100 CEO Tracker, by recruiter Robert Half, suggests bosses of the UK's biggest businesses all tick similar [...]
Monitise is keeping hold of its content business after all May 31, 2016 Monitise has cancelled a potential sale of its content business which includes the MyVoucherCodes website, sending shares diving as much as nine per cent in early trading on Tuesday morning. The firm first revealed talks were taking place in early March for the sale of Markco Media, sending shares soaring more than 40 per cent. It today said those [...]
Far from being unprofessional, being emotional at work should be encouraged May 31, 2016 The celebrated tears shed by Gazza at Italia ‘90 may have foreshadowed a widespread unstiffening of our national upper lip and led us all to be much more Celebrity Big Brother than Brief Encounter, but there is still a stigma attached to showing emotion at work. The word “emotional” is often presented as the polar opposite [...]
Three stocks to make your portfolio hum May 31, 2016 There is (almost) nothing more delightful than a good stock picker who’s passionate about why he or she chooses to invest in a certain company. I especially respect the fund managers who take a hard look at the numbers and then make time to meet with management of a company. And I love the ones who, [...]
Best of British: Four top UK stocks for your ISA – the cream of the house builders, defence, television and retail May 31, 2016 The UK is home to many great businesses and buying shares in ones with good business models and prospects for growth can be a great way to boost savings in an Isa or Sipp. Markets have been rocky this year because of Brexit and trouble overseas, but we asked the best fund managers for examples of [...]
National living wage hurting UK productivity and low-wage sectors, claims think tank May 31, 2016 The national living wage has had a detrimental impact on the UK’s low-wage sectors, a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has found. The think tank said that businesses are trying to offset the cost of the national living wage by cutting overtime, bonuses and other staff perks. It said that the UK’s low-wage sectors, [...]
Boards are still failing to fix culture in their organisations; though financial services is leading the way May 31, 2016 Defining corporate culture is still an issue at many companies, new research has revealed. Nearly one in three (31 per cent) of boards across the public and private sectors have not established or articulated what sort of corporate culture they want, according to the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. It was also found that even when companies [...]
