Crowdfunding is a fresh new way to back business March 19, 2012 THE emergence of crowdfunding, a new method of raising capital over the internet, is set to test how adept the coalition is at adorning London’s financial services crown with new jewels, particularly as attitudes to regulation turn from light touch to intensive interference. Crowdfunding is a web-driven means of raising money from the mass market. [...]
UTILISE WHAT GOVERNMENT ALREADY GIVES March 18, 2012 EVEN the staunchest opponent of George Osborne would have to concede that there is no silver bullet to reduce the deficit and boost growth that can come out of Wednesday’s Budget. So, what do we expect? Clearly some quick, high level cost-cutting measures. The personal allowance is already pledged to increase to at least £8,105. [...]
SVG chairman Ferguson leaves after 28 years March 12, 2012 SVG Capital chairman Nicholas Ferguson is leaving the private equity group at the end of the year, after 28 years with the firm. Ferguson became a director at the company’s previous incarnation, Schroder Ventures, in 1984 and was chairman when it was spun out into SVG in 1996. A prominent figure in the private equity [...]
Twin products for the skilled trader March 12, 2012 MARKET volatility is often a problem for investors. But some, with the talent and bravery to turn turbulence into a boon for their portfolios, make good use of a pair of derivative products – contracts for difference (CFD) and spread betting. How should you choose which to use? Functionally, they are more similar than different. [...]
RWE to scale back its asset sell-off plans March 6, 2012 RWE, Germany’s second-biggest utility, plans to sell fewer assets after finding another €1bn (£834m) of cost cuts and raising its capital as it positions itself for a future without nuclear power in its home market. The company, which owns British utility NPower, reported a 45 per cent drop in 2011 net profit yesterday. It now [...]
At home and abroad, we all need to be reminded of the moral virtues of capitalism March 5, 2012 I LOVE free market capitalism. The reason is simple: I hate famine, disease, misery, and oppression. I’m on a tour around the world to promote the liberating power of free-market capitalism. I’ve edited a book on the subject, The Morality of Capitalism, which is coming out in at least 16 languages. Last week I was [...]
UK venture capitalism: Opportunities and costs March 4, 2012 JACOB MOSELEY THE venture capital industry in the UK, and the rest of Europe, is in something of a state of flux. During the tech bubble era, venture capital fundraising and investment activity expanded rapidly, but when the bubble burst, many firms struggled to survive the subsequent economic downturn. This has led to a consolidation [...]
KKR bosses earn $94m February 27, 2012 HENRY Kravis and George Roberts, the co-founders and chief executives of KKR, have each received a payout of around $94m from the private equity group. The two 68-year-old cousins earned about $64.2m each in cash dividend payments from their combined 25 per cent stake in KKR last year, according to documents filed with the Securities [...]
City AM interview Paul Fisher of the Bank of England February 23, 2012 Senior Bank of England official Paul Fisher was interviewed on Wednesday 22nd February 2012, by Allister Heath and Julian Harris from City A.M. The edited transcript is as follows: Paul, would you like to start with how you see the outlook at the moment? I think it continues to be a story where the outlook [...]
Britain’s growth will be powered by smaller firms February 23, 2012 WHEN Xavier Rolet, chief executive of London Stock Exchange Group, said in City A.M. on 9 January that small and medium enterprises provide the best hope for reviving the UK economy, I cheered. “Without the growth of fledgling companies, there will be little meaningful job creation,” he said. How true. When regulators and politicians talk [...]