If Hong Kong can face down the Chinese bullies, there is hope for the rest of the world June 21, 2019 Every child is taught that the best way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them, rather than to allow them to indulge in their destructive behaviour. While there is of course a risk of a punishment beating, more often it turns out that the bully has adopted aggressive tactics to mask their [...]
Scrap the porn laws, and keep the government out of our sex lives June 21, 2019 They say once is a coincidence, twice is an accident, three times is a pattern. Now that the introduction of the new porn laws has been delayed for a third time, I think it’s safe to say that we have a clear pattern here from the government – of turning a blind eye to a [...]
How worried should you be about deepfakes? June 21, 2019 Mark Zuckerberg recently became the latest high-profile subject of a “deepfake” hoax. A manipulated video circulating on Instagram appears to show him boasting about having “billions of people’s stolen data” and thanking a Sheffield art installation for his success. Squint, and you could mistake the fake video produced using artificial intelligence software for the real [...]
DEBATE: Slack has gone public with a direct listing, but is this type of ‘non-IPO’ just a fad? June 21, 2019 Slack has gone public with a direct listing, but is this type of ‘non-IPO’ just a fad? Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, says YES. Direct listings can work, and you may well get superior price discovery, but they’re suitable only for a relatively small number of firms and will never replace the traditional [...]
Treasury Committee chair Nicky Morgan blasts FCA over consumer access to financial services June 21, 2019 Treasury committee chair Nicky Morgan criticised the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today for “lacking in desire” to improve consumer access to financial services. The Treasury Committee made a series of recommendations of how consumer access to financial services could be improved in a report published last month. These included a requirement that firms act in [...]
There’s a first time for everything… including marrying your friends June 21, 2019 Over the years I’ve ticked off most of the public speaking formats. I’ve enjoyed after dinner speeches, panel discussions, debates and events of all sizes. Last week, I ticked off another category of performance by conducting my friends’ wedding. The only other time I’d been as surprised at a suggestion was when the proprietors of [...]
Climate protests get ugly as City waves goodbye to Hammond June 21, 2019 Two of the most powerful custodians of the UK economy last night laid out their vision for how the financial sector can thrive after they leave office. Addressing a City audience in the heart of the Square Mile, chancellor Philip Hammond announced a major review into financial regulation as the banking sector undergoes rapid change and Britain prepares to leave the European Union. [...]
City Moves for 21 June – Who’s switching jobs? June 21, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Marsh, Druva and Fulcrum. Marsh Marsh has announced the appointments of Tim Scoble as chief executive. Part of Marsh JLT Specialty, the UK real estate practice provides insurance and risk advisory services to real estate owners, operators, managers, and developers. As chief executive of Marsh JLT Specialty’s UK real estate practice, [...]
The City bids farewell to Spreadsheet Phil June 21, 2019 In the drama of the Tory leadership contest, last night was a reminder that it is not only the Prime Minister to whom we will soon be bidding farewell, but the chancellor too. Philip Hammond’s speech at the Mansion House dinner marked his final major address to the City and the effective end of his [...]
Slack surges on public debut at $25bn valuation June 21, 2019 Shares of workplace messaging app Slack soared in its first session as a publicly-traded company today, rising nearly 60 per cent to value the firm above $25bn (£19.7bn). The tech firm had used a direct listing model to go public on Wall Street, opting to not raise any additional capital after several large funding rounds [...]