Blackrock’s biggest risks in the second quarter for investors April 5, 2016 The world's largest asset manager has flagged the biggest risks investors must watch out for in the second quarter of this year. Blackrock's quarterly global investment outlook, written by its global chief investment strategist, Richard Turnill, and his team, highlights some of the hurdles which could rile global markets. Chinese yuan devaluation They warn global markets could [...]
Barclays customers can now use Apple Pay… finally April 5, 2016 It's been a long old wait, but Barclays has finally jumped on board the Apple Pay bandwagon. Barclays is the last of the major banks to support Apple Pay in the UK, letting customers pay with just the swipe of their iPhone or Apple Watch. “Since we introduced contactless to the UK in 2007, it’s [...]
How to make far better judgements – and why the modern world requires a certain approach in business April 5, 2016 Judgement is one of the most vital aspects of business success – and is especially crucial when building a new venture. It is the mainstay in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty and is a valuable skill to have when experience and information alone may not be sufficient. The importance of judgement has become abundantly clear [...]
Why Draghinomics might actually work this time April 5, 2016 It might have been an uncharacteristically nervy Mario Draghi in front of the cameras in Frankfurt last month, but the European Central Bank president has made some of his shrewdest moves to date. Staring in the face of a strong euro, growth-sapping deflation, feeble growth and stubbornly high employment, the ECB president had to contend [...]
UK financial services executives back London to become world’s fintech hub April 4, 2016 UK-based financial services executives are backing London to become the world's fintech hub. Some 92 per cent of those surveyed by Robert Half Financial Services said the UK has the ability to become the field’s worldwide leader. Read more: These are the most influential people in UK fintech Six per cent of the 100 executives surveyed [...]
Fever Pitch: ROLI founder Roland Lamb talks pianos, philosophy and Hans Zimmer April 4, 2016 Since 1975, Moore’s Law has held that the processing power of a microchip doubles every couple of years. For musical instruments, however, the pace of innovation has been somewhat slower. “For the last 400 years, you have been able to control soft and loud by how hard you hit a piano key, but that has been [...]
Over 55s undecided on whether pension freedoms are actually any good April 3, 2016 One year on from the introduction of pension freedoms, the jury's still out on whether or not they are actually any good, a report released today has found. The survey by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) found that, while 44 per cent of over 55s thought that the introduction of pension freedoms last April had been [...]
Defined benefit pension funding level fails to improve for FTSE 350 firms April 3, 2016 The deficit carried on defined benefit (DB) pension schemes by FTSE 350 companies has barely budged over the last year, according to figures released late last week. The study by JLT Employee Benefits discovered that, at the end of March 2016, FTSE 350 firms only held assets that covered 86 per cent of the liabilities of [...]
Here are the most popular credit cards of 2016 – and the rewards they offer April 1, 2016 The five most popular credit cards of 2016 have been revealed today and, unsurprisingly, it turns out customers love getting rewards for spending their money, with cashback cards topping the list. Train commuter, furniture-lover or jet-setter; there's a reward scheme to suit everyone. Here's a run down of the cards people have been searching for most on Which? Money Compare [...]
Crowdfunding website used by mobile challenger bank Mondo to raise £1m in 96 seconds celebrates £150m milestone April 1, 2016 It has helped mobile banks, car parking apps, artisan food markets, Uber challengers and cocktail companies along their way. And now Crowdcube is celebrating a milestone: since launching in 2011, companies have raised £150m on its platform. The crowdfunding website estimates that its 381 successful raises – 34 of which have totalled more than £1m – will create 7,000 new jobs. Read more: Numis leads [...]
