BDO partner Gary Hanson how best to tighten up the crowdfunding sector October 14, 2015 What is it like to be in professional services and working with an incredibly fast-growth sector? In 2014, UK peer-to-peer and crowdfunding platforms made £1.74bn available to firms and individuals, with growth of 168 per cent in Britain and 144 per cent across Europe. This year, those volumes will likely have doubled. Accountancy [...]
Agility is key for finance SMEs: Government policy plays a significant role in setting up small firms for success – ACCA Comment October 14, 2015 When Napoleon first called Britain a nation of shopkeepers, he almost certainly didn’t mean it as a compliment. Nevertheless, in typically British fashion, we took that insult and turned it into something to be proud of. It’s a mark of our enduring entrepreneurial spirit in business. These days, the love of the enterprising small [...]
Sleeping strategies to give you a boost: Embrace the pre-industrial phenomenon of segmented sleep October 14, 2015 The British musician Max Richter recently released his latest composition. “Sleep” is a lullaby for the digital age which lasts more than eight hours. Barring notable exceptions, like Spain, developed nations have long given credence to the view that eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is key to a balanced mood and high performance at work. [...]
Will Waterstones’ e-books dump be a page-turner? October 14, 2015 Waterstones’ announcement last week that it would stop selling e-readers shows the major bookseller’s resilience in the face of growing online market penetration. The move comes after a few years that have seen the retailer dramatically cut its losses and amid hopes that 2016 is the year it finally returns to the black. [...]
China woes and miners’ troubles weigh on index – London Report October 14, 2015 MIXED Chinese economic data and falls in mining shares weighed on the FTSE 100 yesterday. However, declines were mitigated somewhat by a surge in drinks group SABMiller following a new takeover proposal from rival AB InBev. The blue-chip index, which fell on Monday to end an eight-day winning run, was down 0.5 per cent at [...]
Best of the Brokers for 14 October 2015 October 14, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DIAMONDCORP Panmure Gordon has downgraded its target price to 16.5p from 23p previously after a change in analysts at the firm. Despite its caution over diamond pricing in 2015, Panmure Gordon believes DiamondCorp remains a “special situation” ahead of the start of production. [...]
Crisis not a correction: Fund managers believe equity markets are set to rally this autumn after a dire summer October 14, 2015 This summer’s equity markets were carnage, with stocks rising and crashing like waves on a beach. China experienced a “Black Monday” in August as its markets plunged, and sent shares around the world tumbling. Miners and commodity stocks led the way down, as worries that demand from China would be lower sent prices of [...]
How workaholism can work for you: Break your own records and see the value of marginal gains October 14, 2015 When Apple founder Steve Jobs set up the company’s first factory in 1984, he would check thoroughly for any dust on the equipment or the floor, later remarking that “if we didn’t have the discipline to keep that place spotless, then we weren’t going to have the discipline to keep all these machines running.” [...]
Nine CEOs of UK firms at top of Harvard’s list October 14, 2015 NINE chief executives of UK firms have ranked among the best bosses in the world, according to Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) annual list. The UK is home to the second largest number of top-performing bosses along with France, and second only to the US, according to the list, released yesterday. WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell [...]
City Moves for 14 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 13, 2015 EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD ASSET MANAGEMENT Agnès Belaisch has been appointed head of the sovereign debt team at the asset management firm. Based in the UK, she was previously in charge of economic and market analysis at the European Stability Mechanism, and has held roles at the IMF. ANV HOLDINGS The insurance group has appointed Janet [...]
