UK pensions: Over one million Londoners have lost pension pots January 5, 2016 Keeping track of our pension funds as we flit from job to job is a challenging task, and a fresh survey has found that 1.3m Londoners are missing out on pension pots. We know, pensions aren’t exactly the most exciting thing, and you’re a busy person. But that negligence could be costing you dearly – [...]
Record venture capital investment into London tech companies reaches £1.56bn January 5, 2016 Venture capitalists poured a record $2.28bn (£1.56bn) into London’s tech scene last year, according to data from London and Partners, the Mayor’s promotional company. London secured 63 per cent of investment in the UK, which is a testament to London's “world-class talent pool and culture of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit,” according to Mayor Boris Johnson. [...]
New Year’s Resolutions for the world’s biggest economies January 5, 2016 Here we are – the start of a New Year and 365 fresh new pages to write. These are exciting times for most of us, but I bet in the first few days of 2016 there are already those suffering from pangs of guilt. Yes I’m talking about those New Year’s resolutions: binary promises which [...]
Anthony Constantinou appears in Old Bailey accused of sexual assault January 4, 2016 Anthony Constantinou, head of Capital World Markets (CWM), has appeared in the Old Bailey today, on trial accused of a string of sexual assaults. The case is ongoing. Constantinou, who originally appeared before the court in July last year for a preliminary hearing, is the son of Aristos Constantinou, a famed fashion mogul who was murdered on New [...]
CES 2016: General Motors is investing $500m in Uber rival Lyft and is making driverless car plans January 4, 2016 The US carmaker General Motors has revealed it is investing $500m (£339m) in Lyft, a cab-hailing app which rivals Uber, with plans to work on the development of driverless cars together. That investment also comes with a seat on the board. “We see the future of personal mobility as connected, seamless and autonomous. With GM and Lyft working [...]
UK pensions: Defined benefit pension schemes deficit edging downwards in private sector companies January 4, 2016 UK private companies have marginally narrowed the deficit they are running on their defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. Figures from JLT Employee Benefits show that, at 31 December 2015, funding for DB pensions in all UK private sector pension schemes stood at a £228bn deficit. By comparison, at 31 December 2014, the deficit was £248bn. [...]
SME health check: What 2016 holds for UK firms January 4, 2016 The past year has seen the continuation of steady UK growth alongside a degree of political stability after the re-election of the Conservative Party with a majority in May. The result is that business confidence in general is positive. But what of SMEs in particular? And what could 2016 bring? First, we’ve seen a huge [...]
Flickr and Slack founder Stewart Butterfield on starting one of the fastest growing startups ever January 4, 2016 "I lived in Cambridge in the late 1990s, and even then they were working on Silicon Fen,” says Stewart Butterfield. We’re talking about replicating Silicon Valley because, as the founder of Flickr and now team collaboration tool Slack, he’s well placed to comment. And it’s not that he’s picking on Cambridge; the point is that [...]
2015 in review: The best crowdfunded projects, gadgets, investments and companies of the year include beer, burritos, gifs and Greece December 31, 2015 2015 was the year that crowdfunding really took off. Whether it was serious equity funding for a slice of the business or a kickstarter for the latest gadget giving people a reward in return, there were plenty of options. Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favourites this year, including beer, burritos, gifs and more. 1. The [...]
The payment buzzwords to expect in 2016: Wearables, biometrics and banking APIs December 30, 2015 As the new year approaches and the retro reviews for 2015 and predictions for next year start to fill my Twitter feed. I take a look back at the year and put out my early calls on what 2016 will have on the books (or is that on your device, or is that in your Virtual Reality [...]
