The new lord mayor’s message: Social and financial returns go hand in hand November 11, 2012 IN THE 35 years since I first started working in the Square Mile, I have seen many things change. But one constant over this period is that the success of our financial services industry continues to be dependent on the concept of service. In other words, the City must serve society rather than the other [...]
Embracing failure is key to reviving Western growth November 11, 2012 IN AMERICA, a new parenting book is causing a stir. The author Paul Tough argues that an overly hands-on approach can harm a child’s development. Instead, parents should be more laissez-faire. They should give children the chance to fail in order to encourage the development of qualities like grit and optimism. Perhaps this is a [...]
Will the City of London struggle to retain its position as the world’s financial centre? November 11, 2012 YES Rob Harbron Financial services in the City of London will remain under increasing pressure over the coming years. As the UK economy recovers and global expansion begins to gather pace again, output in the financial sector will eventually regain its pre-financial crisis peak. However, growth in the City is unlikely to ever reach the [...]
Rapid responses November 11, 2012 Canterbury calling [Re: End of quantitative easing will stop mad monetary recycling, Friday] It’s not a new development that a religious leader is worrying about sin in business. Did Jesus not throw the moneylenders out of the Temple? Yes, stockbrokers don’t tend to wear hair shirts and traders don’t tend to spend their mornings in [...]
A furniture retailer who rejects the high street November 11, 2012 I MEET Ning Li at Made.com’s new showroom in Notting Hill. I’m assured it’s not the online company’s first step towards being just another high street furniture retailer, but a new way to “engage with customers”. Indeed, Li believes Made.com’s success hinges on its deliberate avoidance of the high street for exclusively online retailing. Growing [...]
A dream solution for navigating the bedroom battlefield at night November 11, 2012 YOU wake in the middle of the night wanting to visit the bathroom. Tired, you regret having a few glasses of water hours earlier before hitting the sack. For a few moments you ponder rolling over and returning to sleep, but you know the need isn’t going to go away. So you slowly arise in [...]
A global week for passing things on November 11, 2012 GLOBAL entrepreneurship week has come to London, and this year it’s all about passing on. Sponsored by Barclays, the idea is for experienced entrepreneurs to give early start-ups and their founders the practical help they need to turn an idea into a business. But with more than 2,500 events taking place across the country, you [...]
Ethical investment can be a risky business November 11, 2012 ETHICAL investing is not a new concept. But while, in the 1960s, it was led by the Methodist Church’s decision to avoid stocks in sectors such as alcohol and gambling, nowadays issues such as climate change are the main drivers. As of 30 June 2012, there was approximately £11bn invested in Britain’s green and ethical [...]
Why investors must keep a keen eye on the cost of investing November 11, 2012 THE retail distribution review (RDR) will change the way that you pay for financial advice: the process will not become cheaper, nor will investing become easier. However, it will be more transparent. The challenge for investors is to manage their costs and choose the right type of adviser. HOW FEES WILL BE PAID RDR, which [...]
Paying for advice is due for a radical overhaul November 11, 2012 EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, GEKKO THE swathe of people who have already retired, or who are about to retire in the next few years – the so-called post war baby boomers – relied heavily upon independent financial advisers (IFAs) to take care of their mortgage, life insurance, savings and investment needs. They built strong personal relationships with [...]
