Yahoo hack hit 500m user accounts – putting pressure on its Verizon deal September 22, 2016 Internet company Yahoo has revealed a massive data breach that compromised as many as 500m of its users' personal details. Yahoo said it believes the hack – which happened in 2014 – was carried out by a state-sponsored actor. No financial information is thought to have been compromised. Read more: Will Yahoo ever be a verb? Account information, including names, [...]
Postal Savings Bank of China in world’s biggest IPO in two years September 21, 2016 China's sixth-largest lender by assets has raised $7.4bn (£5.6bn) in the world’s biggest initial public offering since Chinese ecommerce retailer Alibaba’s 2014 float. The state-owned Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) was priced at the lower end of expectations in Hong Kong and was heavily reliant on cornerstone investors – big buyers that get priority [...]
Marriott International’s takeover of Starwood Hotels & Resorts to close this week after Chinese ministry of commerce gives green light September 20, 2016 Marriott International’s takeover of rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is set to complete this week after China’s antitrust authority granted approval for the $13.6bn (£10.4bn) merger today. The Chinese ministry of commerce was the only regulator pending approval for the tie-up, after the hospitality giants secured premerger green lights from more than 40 other [...]
Pinewood Studios wants to make it in China September 20, 2016 Forget making it in Hollywood – one of the biggest names in UK film is off to break…. China. Pinewood, the studio best known as the home of James Bond and Star Wars, said today it has opened an office in Beijing. The venture will be led by the company's international project executive, Amanda Halliday. Read [...]
Things move slowly in the WTO – there’s a significant leadership opportunity for the UK September 20, 2016 Step changes typically pass unnoticed until after the event that triggered them has passed. The step change anticipated if Leave succeeded was a huge loss on the markets. That did not occur. But there is an unanticipated step change. An opportunity has emerged for the UK to lead action in reconstructing the World Trade Organisation [...]
Skyscanner acquired by Chinese travel giant Ctrip in a £1.4 billion deal September 19, 2016 Edinburgh-based travel search company Skyscanner has been acquired by Chinese travel giant Ctrip in a £1.4 billion deal. Ctrip, a Chinese online travel agent, claims two thirds share of the market in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, it was founded in 1999 and began life as a review site, then branched to hotel business and across [...]
Eight years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, FutureBrand’s Tom Adams says that perceptions of banks’ brands are improving September 19, 2016 Eight years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, FutureBrand’s global head of strategy Tom Adams reflects on how the public perceives financial services organisations. In 2014, when his global brand consultancy first began polling professionals in 17 countries to see how they perceived the firms in PwC’s list of global top 100 companies by market capitalisation, [...]
China sees Brexit as a huge opportunity to forge new trading links with Britain September 19, 2016 I returned last week from a key overseas trade visit as lord mayor, to China and Hong Kong. I was accompanied by a number of City firms, and because the trip followed the G20 Summit, held just before our arrival there, all of them expected an exciting and illuminating visit. One of the big topics [...]
Why the Single Market is the problem – not the solution September 16, 2016 With UK exports at £669bn in 2015, it hardly needs to be said that trade is critical to the UK economy. Despite this huge number, however, the UK has the largest current account deficit in the G7, approaching 6 per cent of GDP. Understanding the reasons for the UK’s trade deficit is critical to designing [...]
MPs and analysts issue fresh nuclear warnings over Hinkley Point project September 15, 2016 Fresh warnings have been triggered over the cost, security, and deliverability of Britain’s first new nuclear reactors for decades following yesterday’s green light for the £18bn build at Hinkley Point in Somerset. Hinkley Point C will be built by France’s EDF with £6bn of Chinese investment. It is effectively subsidised by the UK taxpayer under the [...]