Small business M&A unaffected by Brexit fears August 1, 2016 Deal activity among SMEs flourished in the first half of 2016 and was higher than than the year before, despite Brexit fears. Private equity investors completed a total of 40 deals in British companies between the £10m and £100m mark in the first half of 2016, according to data released today by the Lyceum Capital [...]
Branding and buyouts: Brand Union’s Toby Southgate on corporate takeovers, Tesco’s farms and Tesla’s higher purpose August 1, 2016 Perceptions of brands change over time,” says Toby Southgate, worldwide chief executive of Brand Union. “And building them takes a long time. It’s not about the final push over the line.” A consultative arm of WPP, Brand Union specialises in brand strategy, and has shaped the identity of some of the world’s biggest names, including Vodafone, Absolut [...]
Mobile momentum: Why advertising on handheld devices will allow Google and Facebook to sustain their remarkable growth August 1, 2016 If there was any lingering doubt about the potential of mobile advertising, it was put paid to last week. Advertising’s two behemoths, Google and Facebook, beat analysts’ expectations for growth in the second quarter, thanks largely to the rise of mobile advertising. In its statement, Google’s parent company Alphabet said that not only were companies continuing [...]
David McCourt explains why micro-working is vital, and why he’s so disappointed by Trump and Clinton August 1, 2016 Do you mind always having to up sticks?” I ask David McCourt, founder, chairman and chief executive of telecoms and media investment firm Granahan McCourt, in regard to his likely move to London later this year. “No,” he replies. “I was only in the house my kids grew up in for 14 days last year; I’m [...]
It’ll be Clinton who destroys the transatlantic alliance – not Trump August 1, 2016 I will never vote for Donald Trump. In line with the classic modern American demagogic tradition – from Huey Long to George Wallace – the present Republican nominee often plays fast and loose with the truth. He either outright lies, as when he said large crowds of Muslims were cheering in New Jersey when 9/11 [...]
Iceland’s reticence to unwind financial crisis capital controls will prove costly in the long term August 1, 2016 Whether because of the enthusiasm of its football commentators or interest in its EEA arrangement as a model for post-Brexit UK, Iceland has been in the news frequently recently. Its economy has been growing fairly rapidly in recent years, up around 30 per cent from its 2009 trough, though still more than 20 per cent below [...]
As French growth grinds to a halt, is the country’s economic model fundamentally broken? August 1, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. France’s economic model is irretrievably broken. Along one axis we have a spectrum of possible economic models. We can have low tax and redistribution market economies and high tax and redistribution ones. Non-market economies do not work. Further, the more we tax and redistribute, the [...]
Britons spend 10 per cent of their salary on their holiday, but are less willing to splash out on insurance August 1, 2016 Holidays are becoming a serious investment. British tourists splash the cash on their trips, spending 10 per cent of their annual salaries on average, according to research from Nationwide FlexPlus. One in 10 will splurge even more, spending anything between 20 and 30 per cent of their yearly income on their sojourns in the UK or [...]
Week ahead: Banks take centre stage for results and interest rates August 1, 2016 The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time in seven years this week as it assesses the fallout from the UK’s vote to quit the European Union. The Bank held fire in July in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, catching some analysts off guard. Policy committee members [...]
Brexit brings dark clouds to financial services, but there are some patches of sunshine ahead August 1, 2016 June's Brexit vote may bring doom and gloom to the economy and, by extension, the financial services sector, according to research out today. EY's ITEM Club outlook for financial services has predicted lending to businesses will fall by nearly two per cent in 2017 and a further one per cent in 2018, thanks to a bleaker economic outlook following 23 [...]