Wisdom of the crowd? Why prediction platforms could be big for business April 28, 2016 How can the C-suite be sure it’s making a good decision? It’s a difficult question. Corporate history is filled with examples of cognitive dissonance, groupthink and other destructive management biases. Having a platform through which staff could offer their own forecast on an event may give bosses more confidence to pursue a certain course of action. [...]
The death of Aim: Can equity crowdfunding eclipse the LSE’s junior market? April 28, 2016 The alternative finance market enjoyed near triple-digit growth last year, with the value of its loans, investments and donations hitting £3.2bn. Within this, the main sub-sectors of peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding significantly increased awareness of the concept of lending directly to individuals – excluding those entities like the banks which have for too long dominated markets [...]
How alternative finance is making supply chain finance sexy – a Q&A with C2FO’s Colin Sharp April 28, 2016 The world of alternative finance is increasingly varied. There are property equity crowdfunding platforms, remittance firms with Wikipedia payment models. Specialist lending products are growing in popularity and some firms are looking at blockchain technology. Platform C2FO is focused on helping to bring liquidity to business supply chains. It gives companies visibility of their entire [...]
Bonuses not bumper enough for young bankers April 28, 2016 Young professionals are set to turn their back on the financial sector as bonuses fail to live up to their high expectations in the era of bonus caps, leaving the industry at risk of a skills shortage. The Morgan McKinley Bonus Survey released today reveals that a staggering 83 per cent of financial sector workers [...]
Management consultancies could keep women in sector with innovative and flexible ways of working April 28, 2016 Management consultancies have a "huge opportunity" to attract back women who have left the industry, but must fully embrace more innovative and flexible ways of working, according to a new study. A huge pool of talent is being lost in the consulting sector, as women who leave have on average eight years worth of experience, [...]
The increasing number of self-employed people is causing a real headache for pensions April 28, 2016 The recent trend towards self-employment could potentially create problems for pensions, a report out today warns. According to the research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), self-employment is now at its highest level for 40 years but less than a third (31 per cent) of those who are self-employed are saving into a private pension. Meanwhile, 15 [...]
Baroness Altmann tells MPs that UK pension system not as unfair as critics say April 27, 2016 The pensions minister has today told MPs that the UK's pensions system is not as unfair to younger generation as some critics have said it is. Speaking in front of the Work and Pensions Committee today, Baroness Ros Altmann cast doubt on the idea that today's retirees are living a life of luxury to the detriment [...]
Crowdfunding website offers new ways to invest in UK property development April 27, 2016 A new crowdfunding platform is offering investors the chance to buy a stake in potential housing development sites. Intro Crowd, launched today, offers the opportunity for investors to buy shares in companies owning the land plots for as little as £1,500. Gregory Baker, Intro Crowd’s chief executive, said: “The government has pledged to build one [...]
Forget vacuums and hand dryers: The Dyson product might just blow away a whole industry April 27, 2016 It's been four years and £50m in the making, but Dyson's new product just blew in: this time, entrepreneur James Dyson is taking on the beauty market. Yes, fresh from such innovations as the world's first self-righting vacuum cleaner, the company has decided to tackle something altogether more personal: the hairdryer. And naturally, given the company's [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Clinton vs Trump – whose economic policy is better for markets? April 27, 2016 It is a momentous time in terms of geopolitics. A plethora of major events with potentially significant investment consequences will take place this year. They range from the Brexit hurricane in the UK, to tectonic shifts in the oil economy abroad. Even ostensibly local conflagrations, such as political deadlock in Brazil, may impact wider markets. But [...]
