Why a sugar tax would be a big fat failure: People are too smart for central planners October 27, 2015 Government ministers have bowed to pressure. They have published a report by Public Health England (PHE) calling for a tax of up to 20 per cent on sugary drinks and foods. If the tax reduced sugar intake in line with the recommendations, it is claimed that more than 77,000 deaths could be prevented in the [...]
Heathrow expansion: Failure to act will kill the government’s Chinese trade ambitions dead October 27, 2015 During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the UK last week, our government made a flurry of announcements about Chinese investment in infrastructure. From HS2 to nuclear power stations, the Chinese would help modernise the backbone of our economy. So far so good. Notably absent, however, was any mention of aviation. Airport expansion is essential [...]
After UK economic growth slowed to 0.5 per cent in the third quarter, should we be worried? October 27, 2015 Tim Price, manager of the VT Price Value Portfolio, says Yes Not only is growth slowing, but a growing number of companies in the Anglo Saxon economies are issuing profits warnings. Recent “victims” include Adobe, Pearson, Caterpillar, William Hill, and the retailers Walmart and Home Retail Group. The list of casualties is broad and varied [...]
Best of the Brokers for 27 October 2015 October 27, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WM MORRISON SUPERMARKETS Shore Capital head of research and supermarket expert Clive Black has welcomed WM Morrison Supermarket’s announcement that it is partnering with UK Motor Fuel Group for forecourt convenience stores at five petrol stations. Black said the move demonstrated “better thinking” than Morrisons’ previous [...]
TalkTalk and WPP pull index off Friday’s high – London Report October 27, 2015 A fall in advertising group WPP, while TalkTalk’s losses worsened in the wake of a cyber attack, weighed yesterday on the FTSE 100 as it slipped off two-month highs. The blue-chip index ended 0.4 per cent lower at 6,417.02 points, having risen 1.1 per cent on Friday to its highest level in two months. Commodity [...]
Beat burnout: Three ways to avoid losing energy at work October 27, 2015 A recognised medical diagnosis in several countries, burnout became a real concern for workers in the 1970s. A product of the increasing size of the services sector in the US and UK, professionals began to lose their energy and sense of value at work. But “burnout” is a broad term, and the reasons for [...]
Ferrari IPO exuberance leaves sanity in the dust – CNBC Comment October 27, 2015 What do Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti and Rolls Royce have in common? Well they are all top end luxury motors with eye-watering list prices, so the answer is, I guess, lots. And yet in terms of the value the stock market is placing on them, Ferrari is priced, well, like a Ferrari, while the rest [...]
Currency wars will continue: Europe and Japan are gearing up for stimulus, and some investors are betting their currencies will fall October 27, 2015 Currency wars are still underway as both the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan prepare new rounds of QE which could weaken their currencies, experts say. Last week the euro fell against the dollar – reversing a trend in recent weeks – as ECB president Mario Draghi hinted he may ease monetary [...]
Financing fears are putting off Britain’s would-be entrepreneurs October 26, 2015 Forget a nation of shopkeepers, we’d like to be a nation of entrepreneurs – almost 40 per cent of Brits want to start their own business. But a lack of stable income and fears over financing are forcing Brits to bin their business plans, according to a survey from Intouch Accounting. More than half of [...]
City Moves for 27 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 26, 2015 LOMBARD ODIER Duncan MacIntyre has been appointed chief executive of the banking firm’s private client business in the UK. He joins from Coutts & Co, where he founded and was global head of its private office. MacIntyre has also worked as a senior private banker at JP Morgan, which he joined from Robert Fleming & [...]
