Investors wait for Fed moves – New York Report March 29, 2015 WALL STREET investors may find little reason to make big moves this week as they await monthly US jobs data and any news that could change expectations for the first rate hike in almost a decade. The Labor Department report is due on Friday, when the market will be closed for Good Friday, leaving investors [...]
Ed Miliband: David Cameron’s divided party is now a clear and present danger to UK business March 29, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN 38 DAYS TO GO Today the Prime Minister is going to Buckingham Palace. Parliament is dissolved and the General Election is finally underway. This election is not simply a choice between parties and leaders but between different visions of our country, of how we succeed, of the kind of country we [...]
London’s booming FinTech sector will stumble without better access to talent March 29, 2015 One of London’s strongest attributes has always been its ability to reinvent itself – and the success of the financial technology (or FinTech) sector shows this characteristic coming to the fore once again. Since the financial crisis, the explosion of companies specialising in financial technologies has brought innovation and prosperity to formerly run-down areas of [...]
The US’s attempt to halt China’s rise is a monumental blunder March 29, 2015 “You’re thinking of me, The same old way. You were above me, But not today.” – The Beatles, Rubber Soul, 1965 China might well be singing this Beatles tune all the way to the bank. For America has managed to fall into a momentous trap in its response to China’s rise as a global power. [...]
Are standing desks an answer for sedentary British workers? March 29, 2015 Gavin Bradley, founder of Active Working CIC and the Get Britain Standing campaign, says Yes. The average person sits for almost nine hours a day. Standing desks help you sit less and move more. And we are increasingly seeing innovative companies making the move. However, education is essential, otherwise people will not change their behaviour. [...]
Data deluge: Microsoft boss Dave Coplin on how SMEs can best harness technology March 29, 2015 What if, instead of making us smarter, the technology we surround ourselves with was actually making us less efficient? This perhaps unpalatable suggestion becomes even more surprising when made by a man entitled “chief envisioning officer” of one of the world’s largest technology companies. But Microsoft’s Dave Coplin made just this point when speaking at [...]
Interview: City A.M. talks to Marcelino Castrillo, MD of SME UK banking at Santander March 29, 2015 Why has Santander decided to refocus its Breakthrough programme to include all ambitious SMEs, and not just fast-growth businesses? The fast-growth businesses we’ve been working with were seeing great results: they were growing their workforce, launching new products and entering new markets. But we understand that not all ambitious businesses are necessarily fast-growth. Business ambition [...]
Uber expansion: Lessons on how to rapidly scale March 29, 2015 How does a business scale in five years, from operations in one city to a presence in over 280? Uber, the Silicon Valley tech firm, has done just that – in the meantime disrupting the entire private car hire industry. What lessons does it offer other ambitious firms? Uber is a local service operating on [...]
The Royal Navy style of leadership March 29, 2015 In today’s world, “the battleground is one for talent… and talented people will not put up with poor leadership.” This was the stark message from Sir Trevor Soar, the Royal Navy’s former commander-in-chief of the Fleet, when he addressed businesses at the Santander Breakthrough Summit in Leeds about the importance of nurturing future leaders. Soar [...]
Creativity: Where can you find it? March 29, 2015 You can learn how to use your imagination, and thinking outside the box is usually a daft idea. Too often, businesses and employees fall into the trap of sticking to “safe” work. They are comfortable offering the services and systems that guarantee an easy “yes” from customers, and are so preoccupied with ensuring that their [...]
