What a summer: George Osborne’s epic fall from high office September 15, 2016 At the end of July, former Chancellor George Osborne delivered the annual Margaret Thatcher memorial lecture. Her legacy is mighty. What would his be? As he attempted to define it in front of a City audience in the magnificent Guildhall, he concluded that he had “much more to contribute to our nation's discussions in the [...]
City Moves for 15 September 2016 | Who’s switching jobs September 15, 2016 Benevolent.ai Benevolent.ai, a British artificial intelligence company, has appointed IBM Watson’s vce president of Watson platform; Jerome Pesenti as CEO of its technology division, benevolent technology. Jerome will also join the main board of the company. Jerome has been focused on big data and machine learning for the past 16 years. He joins benevolent.ai from IBM Watson where [...]
Hybrid engine firm Vantage Power is setting itself apart with clever software September 15, 2016 Not many startups hunt for premises with the requirement that they can fit a double-decker bus in them. But for Vantage Power, that was a necessity. Founded by Imperial College graduates Alex Schey and Toby Schulz, the firm makes hybrid – part-diesel, part-electric – engines. Vantage Power can turn four buses currently in use hybrid for the [...]
Cyber attack fears push up hack insurance September 15, 2016 Increasing fears over potential cyber attacks has pushed up the number of firms taking out hack insurance. Research from insurance broker Marsh has found 83 per cent of respondents say they have a basic or complete understanding of their company’s cyber exposure, compared to 61 per cent last year. According to Marsh almost a third [...]
The UK’s bonus system among the world’s most unfair – CIMA September 15, 2016 The UK’S bonus system is not fair a survey from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has revealed. It found the UK has the second-least meritocratic bonus system in the world with bonuses causing resentment among two-thirds (35 per cent) of UK firms. Only the United Arab Emirates faired worse than the UK, with 42 [...]
Shadow MPC calls on Mark Carney to wait before pulling the trigger on another rate cut September 14, 2016 City economists have told Mark Carney to keep interest rates glued at their record low when the Bank of England meets today. City A.M.’s Shadow monetary policy committee (MPC) voted eight-to-one in favour of holding rates at 0.25 per cent, as experts said the governor and his fellow rate-setters should wait for more signs of [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May set to power up Hinkley Point September 14, 2016 The government is expected to press the button on two new nuclear reactors in Somerset as early as this week. Yesterday, reports suggested that the government has told France it has approved an £18bn plan by French company EDF to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. The likely green light for the reactors is [...]
Metro Bank leads post-referendum challenger bounceback September 14, 2016 Metro Bank shares climbed again today, as the challenger bank's mighty post-referendum run continues. Shares rose by one per cent to £27.39, leaving the bank up 67 per cent from levels hit amid frantic trading on 27 June. Banks were some of the worst affected in the aftermath of the UK's shock vote to leave [...]
Biggest deal of 2016 agreed – but large hurdles await Bayer and Monsanto’s $66bn tie-up September 14, 2016 Bayer, the German chemicals maker, clinched a $66bn (£50bn) takeover of controversial US seeds company Monsanto yesterday, marking the biggest deal of 2016 and the largest all-cash transaction on record. The agreement was reached after months of negotiations, with GM-seeds producer Monsanto accepting Bayer’s fourth bid of $128 per share. The mammoth tie up still [...]
Secure Trust Bank eyes graduation to London main market September 14, 2016 Secure Trust Bank, one of the UK’s challenger bank brands, is planning to move to from London’s junior market to the main market. The move is expected to happen around 12 October. Shares in Secure Trust have rebounded after hitting yearly lows on 7 July and have climbed by almost 30 per cent. Challenger banks [...]