Britain is a tech powerhouse leading the global revolution July 7, 2017 In every era, when a big new technology is invented we are challenged to think fresh about how to make it work for us, in a way that improves the quality of people’s lives. Just as new technologies can bring great benefits, they also can throw up risks. It’s no different with digital technology. Britain [...]
It takes a village: How Simon Rogan transformed a Cumbrian town into an international culinary destination July 6, 2017 The village of Cartmel lies just beyond the boundaries of the Lake District. It’s quietly beautiful, with squat stone buildings, rows of shops selling postcards and tourist knick-knacks, and a 12th century priory that dominates the town square. You can find lazy, bucolic idylls like this dotted across this part of the world; it’s the [...]
Seven investment charts that caught our eye in June July 6, 2017 Schroders Investment Communications team highlights charts they found interesting this month. Mid-year markets Schroders' team of economists put together a handy summary of how various asset classes and markets have performed as we reach the middle of the year. Looking at broad asset classes, equities have been the best to be invested in, while commodities [...]
Big UK banks slip down in global ranking, but Metro and the challengers make ground July 3, 2017 Big UK banks are suffering compared with international rivals, according to a ranking of the world’s 1,000 largest lenders out today. HSBC remains Britain’s biggest bank in the global ranking, coming in ninth for the second year in a row. However, the lender – which topped the 2008 ranking – suffered its worst result in [...]
Manchester bike-sharing firm Mobike develops tech to track cycles and lock them remotely June 28, 2017 Mobike, the bike-sharing firm bringing Boris-style bikes to Manchester, has developed location tracking technology that allows bikes to be locked remotely. The Chinese firm has teamed up with digital security company Gemalto to embed a “smart bike lock”. Today’s announcement comes a week after bike-sharing rival Wukong went bust after losing 90 per cent of [...]
Don’t underestimate the risks of interest rate hikes to the global economy June 27, 2017 In recent months sentiment towards financial markets has been broadly positive in Western economies. But, as the recent UK political situation has demonstrated, sentiment can quickly change. Such swings also happen in financial markets. Here I highlight some of the key current macro-economic issues to watch for. Global recovery gaining traction The world economy is [...]
Next global crash could come “with a vengeance”, central bankers at the Bank for International Settlements have warned, citing debt fears in China and other emerging markets June 26, 2017 Risks building up in China and other emerging markets could trigger the next global financial crash, an influential group of central bankers has warned. China and other developing economies such as Thailand are beginning to show the same signs of tensions seen in the US and UK before the global financial crisis of 2007-08, according [...]
Emerging market equities: unloved and under-owned June 21, 2017 “Emerging market (EM) equities has a history of headlines — mostly negative — and volatility,” said Devan Kaloo, Head of Global Emerging Markets Equities at Aberdeen Asset Management. Yet there is reason for optimism, Kaloo assured attendees of the 70th CFA Institute Annual Conference, especially for those value investors who dive deeply into the fundamentals, [...]
Forget the EU, post-Brexit Britain should look to China June 19, 2017 Today the UK starts the long and tempestuous process of negotiating its exit from the EU and working on a future trade agreement. But however these talks go (and at the moment, the omens are not promising), post-Brexit Britain will need to aggressively find new partners or strengthen existing ones in order to fill the [...]
The Cheesegrater’s new owner CC Land wants to buy more City skyscrapers, according to deputy chairman Dickie Wong June 14, 2017 The Chinese property giant which bought the Cheesegrater tower, the tallest building in the City of London, for £1.15bn in March is eyeing more City skyscrapers. CC Land, a Hong Kong-listed company controlled by Chinese billionaire Cheung Chung-kiu, snapped up the Leadenhall Building in the second-biggest ever sale of a UK building earlier this year. [...]