Ignore the pessimists, equities are going up. Here’s why January 24, 2014 Peter Garnry of Saxo Bank is very optimistic when it comes to the future. Innovation is making things better for humanity, and Garnry thinks it's also makes things better for investors, because it pushes up the equity-risk premium "significantly". The chart below shows the S&P 500 performance (excluding dividends) since 1927. Performance is on a [...]
How to stay sane in the workplace November 27, 2013 Jonathan Trott’s dramatic surprise departure from the Ashes tour reminds us that stress is a serious problem TEST cricket, the gentleman’s game with emphasis on the gentle, is the last sport you’d envisage being a rigorous mental challenge. But just one test into the Ashes tour, the out-of-form batsman Jonathan Trott followed Marcus Trescothick and [...]
One frustrating website security feature just became useless October 28, 2013 The web's best loved test of whether you're a human being just became redundant – according to US technology firm Vicarious. The San Francisco based company says that its software can break tests which have users input a distorted string of words and symbols – known as CAPTCHAs – and they say they can do [...]
Letters to the Editor – 09/09 – Twitter complaint, AI developments, Best of Twitter September 8, 2013 Twitter complaint [Re: Twitter complaint signals the start of a revolution for corporate reputations, Friday] This is a wonderful story. So many companies, of which British Airways is one, do not dedicate sufficient resources towards dealing with customers. The resultant media coverage, not to mention the thousands who saw the comment on Twitter, should set [...]
Artificial Intelligence will destroy jobs – but technological pessimism is wrong September 4, 2013 DEVELOPMENTS in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be among the most exciting advances of this century. No longer the preserve of science fiction, from driving our cars to managing our health, the products of AI research are already quietly revolutionising our world. But warning bells are ringing. John Maynard Keynes coined the term “technological unemployment” to [...]
Italian prime minister: Europe will be reborn in Greece July 29, 2013 Italian prime minister Enrico Letta has visited his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaris in a show of solidarity as the country scrapes through the conditions required for its next tranche of aid. Ahead of the meeting, which is thought to have covered subjects like youth unemployment, immigration and energy, Samaras said Greece was “firmly on the [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs November 13, 2012 Alvarez & Marsal The professional services firm has announced three appointments. Dan Murphy joins as a managing director from Alix Partners. He has also held roles at Ernst & Young. Ian Woosey and Lynn Evison join as senior directors. Woosey was previously director of retail consulting at Summit, and Evison was a partner at Kurt [...]
UK stocks dip as Hurricane Sandy hits insurers and energy shares October 29, 2012 BRITAIN’S leading shares dipped in low volume yesterday as concerns over the costs of Hurricane Sandy in the United States added to uncertainties about future corporate earnings. Many investors were sticking to the sidelines ahead of a pick-up in the UK third-quarter earnings season this week, notably from the energy and banking sectors. Insurers were [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs October 11, 2012 Reech AiM Group The international asset management group has appointed Daniel Betts as client services director. He joins Reech from Aviva Investors, where he was most recently client relationship manager. He will oversee all client service functions and will report directly to the chief executive officer Christophe Reech. Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Neil Tong has [...]
Pixar goes Scottish in the brilliant Brave August 9, 2012 FILMS BRAVE Cert: PG **** Brave is not only Pixar’s first foray into fairytale, it’s the company’s first movie with a female lead. Set in Medieval Scotland, among roaring chieftains, sprites and fairies, Brave is cacophony of colour and sound, rendering clanland in a mosaic of gorgeous pastels. Many films are released in 3D to [...]