Women should not have to change the City alone March 12, 2019 Last Friday we celebrated International Women’s Day, which provides a terrific opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come towards an equal and fair society, but also how far we have to go. I appreciate that some may disregard an Oxbridge-educated, white, male Conservative politician talking about gender equality. But it is beholden on all [...]
Financial Conduct Authority confirms rent-to-own price cap implementation March 5, 2019 A price cap on the cost of buying household goods through rent-to-own deals will be introduced next month, the City watchdog has confirmed. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which announced a crackdown on the sector in November last year, has set a price cap of 100 per cent on the interest customers can be charged in a move [...]
Finally, the Tories have tackled the UK’s deficit February 22, 2019 Credit where it’s due, Philip Hammond has finally conquered the deficit – albeit several years after his predecessor George Osborne originally promised to have done so. While the government is still spending more money than it generates, the UK’s rate of borrowing is considerably below pre-crisis levels. In its analysis of yesterday’s borrowing figures the [...]
Awards 2022 February 20, 2019 The City is back, and so are the City A.M. Awards, recognising the best of the Square Mile, Canary Wharf and London’s business community – which has shown shown resilience, innovation and adaptability like never before over the past year. We’re delighted to host what will be a wonderful celebration of the capital’s rebound, but [...]
Revealed: The 10 fintech startups in Barclays’ 2019 Techstars accelerator February 1, 2019 It's that time of year again: Barclays has unveiled the 10 startups that have made the cut for its annual fintech accelerator programme, powered by venture capital giant Techstars. Now in its sixth year, the 13-week programme puts the young companies through an intensive training course with access to mentorship from Barclays and industry experts, and [...]
Parent trap: the child benefits system has ended up punishing the very people it was designed to protect January 16, 2019 For high-flying parents who earn more than £50,000 a year, the child benefit system will seem ridiculous. You go through the effort of applying for the benefits (over the course of a year, this amounts to £1,000 for the first child, and £700 for each additional child), only for the money to be clawed back [...]
Debate: Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? December 7, 2018 Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? Yes – Jordan Marshall is policy development manager at IPSE. SMEs represent 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses. Included in this figure are 4.8m self-employed people – the UK’s smallest enterprises. A report from MPs this week exposed the shoddy practices of [...]
We have paved the way for the next financial crisis December 6, 2018 Optimists believe that the last decade of roiling financial crisis and austerity is behind us, and that current fears of trade war, Brexit, populism, and market crashes are overblown. They hope for a global economy poised for many years of growth, increasing personal wealth and prosperity, and political stability. Sadly, hope is never a strategy. Realists, [...]
Ofgem to help over 100,000 customers as another energy supplier goes bust November 21, 2018 Ofgem has said it will step to ensure a smooth transition for customers as yet another small energy provider went out of business today, the sixth this year. Customers of Extra Energy will be protected by the regulator’s safety net, it said. The company’s 108,000 domestic and 21,000 business customers have been told not to switch [...]
Debenhams supplier issue could be ‘nail in the coffin’ for department store November 15, 2018 Supplier problems that have reportedly hit Debenhams could be the “nail in the coffin” for the embattled department store, according to industry experts. A number of high street suppliers stopped working with the 240-year-old store after credit insurers reduced their protection, trade magazine Drapers reported. “They really need to implement strategic change in the business, [...]