Aggreko puts brave face on as first quarter revenues slide April 28, 2016 Aggreko has insisted full year figures will come in as forecast, despite a double-digit drop in revenues during the first quarter. The figures Underlying revenue for the three months to 27 April was 14 per cent behind last year, with reported revenue down 17 per cent, the temporary power provider said. Revenues in its rental solutions arm fell nine per cent [...]
Profits drop six per cent at Lloyds Banking Group, beating analysts’ expectations April 28, 2016 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group plummeted by as much as four per cent this morning after the bank posted a six per cent drop in profits during the first quarter, beating analysts' expectations, but disappointing investors. Lloyds has since recovered some of the ground, with shares down two per cent by mid-morning, but the fall will still [...]
EU referendum: Economists launch new pro-Brexit report attacking EU as an “evil” customs union April 28, 2016 A group of economists has struck back against what they see as the one-sided tone of the EU referendum debate today, with a new report that outlines the potential benefits of leaving the EU. "Economists for Brexit", a campaign group launched this morning, said Brexit would lead to lower prices, more jobs and faster economic growth, dismissing the claims put [...]
International Girls in ICT day: What lego can tell us about gender equality April 28, 2016 Let’s hear it for Lego. Long criticised for introducing gender stereotypical brick sets, the Danish company unveiled three new Lego science figures last year: a palaeontologist, an astronomer and a chemist. The surprise? All three scientists were female. The plastic brick has suddenly become a symbol of gender equality. It comes at the right time: [...]
Not so much revolution as boardroom evolution April 28, 2016 We may not be in the throes of a full-on shareholder spring – as happened back in 2012 – but investors are definitely flexing their muscles. They railed against generous executive pay packages at BP and Anglo American (with 59 per cent and 42 per cent rejecting the remuneration deals, respectively), while smaller double-digit rebellions have [...]
City Moves for 28 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs April 28, 2016 Tibbalds Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design has named Matt Shillito as consultant planner and has appointed Fiona Sibley as senior planner. Matt rejoins Tibbalds after spending 10 years living overseas, where he was a senior planner for Vancouver’s planning and development services. Fiona brings over three years’ experience in the industry. Having worked at other planning [...]
Corbyn-backing Sadiq Khan would be a disaster for London’s thriving economy April 28, 2016 When it comes to business, London’s mayoral election matters for the whole country. Britain’s economy is deeply interconnected. A startup in Bristol will hire a design agency in Soho to help them market their product online; a Leeds manufacturer will draw on finance and legal advice from firms in the City. For better or for [...]
The junior doctors’ strike is a symptom of politicians’ failure to embrace real public sector reform April 28, 2016 Tom Bower’s recently published biography of Tony Blair is fascinating. Not because of any sensational revelations, but rather because of the relentless narrative describing the failure of politicians and senior civil servants to understand how to make public services work more efficiently, or indeed how an economy really works at all. They simply didn’t get [...]
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 [...]
As UK growth slows to 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, is George Osborne right to blame it on the EU referendum? April 28, 2016 Scott Corfe, director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. Our business survey research shows that companies have reined in capital spending plans amid all the uncertainty over Brexit. This is particularly the case for large businesses, and we are likely to see some weak investment figures in the first half of this [...]