Escaped Alone: Caryl Churchill’s incisive take on four women’s friendship has an absurdist streak February 4, 2016 Royal Court | ★★★★☆ At 77, Caryl Churchill isn't so much slowing down as paring down, Pinter-style. Lately, the veteran dramatist – prolific as ever – has been trimming her running times and discarding the grand experimental gestures of her early work, while keeping her wit and moral seriousness. Escaped Alone hews to the trend: [...]
P2P lending: Four predictions for 2016 February 4, 2016 After a decade of bold leaps, 2016 is the year that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending will finally come of age. It has built a loyal following of investors, but remains something of a niche asset class. This year it will launch itself as a true mainstream investment option. Why? The Innovative Finance Isa In the 2015 [...]
The Big Short interview with director Adam McKay: “Outrage with banks comes naturally… they’re street hustlers” January 22, 2016 The Oscar-nominated director of financial film The Big Short, Adam McKay, wasn't afraid of throwing the cat among the pigeons when I caught up with him yesterday. On the eve of his latest film's release he launched a stinging attack on Wall Street, branding bankers “street hustlers” and labelling the SEC’s response to the crisis “disgusting”. [...]
As challenger banks, fintech and digital payments take off, here are four reasons why 2016 will be the year banks are on the run January 20, 2016 Until recently, managing your money meant dealing with a bank. For both businesses and individuals they were pretty much the only game in town. But that’s no longer the case. Thanks to digital challengers, tech startups and the ongoing fallout from the financial crisis, banks face huge competition in all areas of their business. Each [...]
Sainsbury’s share price drops despite beating expectations as supermarket offers more detail on possible Argos deal January 13, 2016 Sainsbury's share price dropped this morning, despite beating expectations for the crucial Christmas period – and lifting the lid on its reasons for making a bid for Argos parent Home Retail Group. The figures Total retail sales for the supermarket were up 0.8 per cent in the 15 weeks to 9 January. Including fuel, sales were down [...]
Staff pay gap: Beating the Fat Cat Tuesday blues is about making bonuses work for everyone January 12, 2016 This week has seen a repeat of the now familiar outcry over bosses’ bonuses. Top bosses had earned more by last Tuesday than the average worker will earn in a year, in a phenomenon being termed “Fat Cat Tuesday”. And unsurprisingly, the size of chief executives’ bonuses is demotivational for UK employees, as recent CIPD [...]
Why Fat Cat Tuesday is “pub economics” – and when will your pay overtake the average UK worker? January 5, 2016 Britain’s top bosses have already earned the equivalent of how much the average worker takes home in their entire yearly pay packet, according to new research. The chief executives of the FTSE 100 companies will have earned the average annual salary of £27,645 by the end of Tuesday, the second working day of 2016. However, [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes up on Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey December 29, 2015 The FTSE 100 index edged higher in the first trading day since Christmas, led higher by Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey. The UK's top blue-chip index closed 0.96 per cent higher at 6,314 points, despite losses by miners, which had benefited from a dead cat bounce in the build-up to Christmas. Read more: Oil prices crawl back up [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index makes strong gains on the back of commodities December 23, 2015 The FTSE 100 index closed sharply higher on Wednesday, with the bounce-back led by mining companies with oil companies not far behind. The UK's top blue-chip index closed 2.6 per cent up at 6,240 points, as the dead cat bounce in resources continued. "Stock markets have been encouraged by a stabilisation in commodity prices which has picked up [...]
FTSE 100 index opens higher as miners extend gains December 23, 2015 A dead cat bounce by miners yesterday has been extended, leading the FTSE to a strong opening on a shortened week of trading. The UK's blue-chip index opened 1.03 per cent higher at 6,145 points, led by Anglo American and Glencore. Anglo American opened 3.59 per cent higher at 307.83p per share, while Glencore rose 4.25 per [...]