Will Imperial Brands light up another shareholder spring? Let’s hope not January 27, 2017 The reaction to tobacco giant Imperial Brands’ decision to jettison a new incentive package for chief executive Alison Cooper has been tediously predictable. Focusing on the level of her pay – which will now not rise to a potential £8.5m this year – it is being portrayed as a turning point, spurred on by Theresa May’s campaign [...]
Corporate governance: Board reformers must not rest on their laurels January 27, 2017 Six months ago, corporate governance suddenly shot to the top of the political agenda when Theresa May formally launched her Conservative Party leadership campaign. She said that the scrutiny non-executive directors provide “is just not good enough”, adding “we’re going to change that system – and we’re going to have not just consumers represented on [...]
Fabulous Brexit, Chinese implosion: The feasible scenarios markets are ignoring January 27, 2017 The exquisite unpredictability of markets was on full parade in 2016, and investors are still breathless. Very few believed populist anger would lead to a Brexit or a President Trump, or that a crashing oil market would be rescued by a deal underpinned by Saudi altruism towards Iran. Indeed, markets are replete with occurrences which [...]
Mark Carney’s fintech critique should be a wake-up call for a sector used to plaudits January 27, 2017 The fintech sector is so used to being publicly lauded that this week’s comments by the governor of the Bank of England will have come as a shock. Despite claiming London as the fintech centre of Europe and exulting its potential, Mark Carney made clear fintech’s rise could disrupt the established financial sector – raising [...]
China’s debt mountain is unlikely to spoil its New Year January 27, 2017 As China prepares to ring in the year of the Fire Rooster this weekend, its central bank has ordered lenders to strictly control the amount of loans issued in the first quarter of 2017 – an effort to cut the country’s ballooning levels of debt. China’s debt pile has burgeoned from 150 per cent in [...]
Why road pricing could help liberate London’s roads from congestion January 27, 2017 It's been a tough few months for London’s commuters and drivers. A combination of bad tempered industrial disputes, burst water mains and fog have made the journey to work particularly challenging for the 3m or so people who often have to battle through the morning peak. Good timing perhaps for a new report from the [...]
As she vows to renew the Special Relationship, is Theresa May right to be cosying up to Donald Trump? January 27, 2017 Harriet Maltby, head of policy research, Prosperity Index at the Legatum Institute, says Yes. Allies never agree on everything; time to stop pretending that Theresa May’s desire to build a good relationship with Donald Trump means accepting every decision he makes. It is not May’s job to moralise in public about Trump’s choices, it is [...]
US President Donald Trump says he’ll negotiate trade deal with the UK himself January 27, 2017 US President Donald Trump says he will personally discuss the framework for a post-Brexit trade deal with Prime Minister Theresa May today, having failed to appoint a commerce secretary since moving into the White House. “I’m meeting with the PM tomorrow but I don’t have my commerce secretary and they wanna talk trade – so I’ll [...]
Moody’s unable to tolerate BT’s weaker operating trading figures January 26, 2017 A leading ratings agency has cut the outlook of telecoms giant BT after revealing its patience had run out. On the eve of BT revealing its third quarter trading figures, Moody's changed the group's outlook from stable to negative. The news comes as another blow to the FTSE 100 firm after it revealed on Tuesday a £530m accounting [...]
Pressure is building on the government to seize control over Southern Rail January 26, 2017 Pressure is building on the operator behind the controversial Southern Rail service after Downing Street yesterday warned of the need for improvement. Reports emerged earlier this week claiming the Department for Transport was considering stripping the struggling service from Govia Thameslink Railway. Last year GTR filed a “force majeure” claim with ministers, blaming poor service [...]