Fintech helps to push foreign direct investment in UK financial services sector to highest level since 2006 June 13, 2016 Foreign investors can't get enough of the UK's financial services market, with a report out today discovering that fintech has helped push foreign direct investment (FDI) to its highest level since 2006. The research by professional services firm EY discovered that, in 2015, there were 94 FDI projects in the UK's financial services sector, which in turn generated 8,138 [...]
Why is Amal Clooney at EY Entrepreneur of the Year? June 11, 2016 Amal Clooney says she and her husband, George Clooney, are looking for businesses to help them launch their first projects within a foundation that will help fight human rights abuses. Speaking at EY's World Entrepreneur of the Year in Monaco this morning, the international human rights lawyer made an appeal: "I actually have a couple [...]
Investing in culture boosts operating profits at FTSE 350 firms June 8, 2016 Over half (55 per cent) of FTSE 350 companies saw their operating profits jump 10 per cent or more after investing in their organisations's culture. In a survey by EY of 100 board members from FTSE 350 companies, 86 per cent respondents said that culture was fundamental to their company’s overall performance and strategy and 92 per cent said that investing in culture had improved [...]
Bash this: The UK’s highest-rated chief executive is a banker June 8, 2016 Is this the end of banker bashing? It turns out the UK's most beloved chief executive works in the finance sector – but his isn't one of the traditional lenders… A new ranking by job review site Glassdoor, which is compiled by looking at how employees rate their own bosses, put Craig Donaldson, the chief executive of [...]
Entrepreneurs signal the economy is looking up despite warnings over the impact of Brexit June 6, 2016 Economic confidence among entrepreneurs has taken a big step forward over the last year. The number of business owners who feel confident about the direction of the global economy climbed by 18 percentage points to 69 per cent over the last 12 months according to a survey from accountancy giant EY. The UK economic outlook [...]
US drug companies are hiring their own auditors to review compliance following civil violations, raising conflict of interest fears June 2, 2016 Some of the US' biggest drug companies have been found to be hiring their existing auditors to carry out compliance reviews, creating a potential conflict of interest. The compliance reviews are a part of government settlements over alleged civil violations, such as off-label drug promotion or paying kickbacks. Federal records revealing the practise were uncovered by [...]
Manufacturing industry set for further slowdown as PMI figures remain weak June 1, 2016 The manufacturing industry is still in the doldrums, according to the new data out today which points to a marked decline in output in the run-up to the EU referendum. The sector clocked a score of 50.1 on the Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips) purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for May, where scores above 50 indicate [...]
Bitcoin price rises more than two per cent to above £370 following recent rally May 31, 2016 The bitcoin price has continued its recent rally to rise another two per cent today. The price of a single bitcoin reached a high of £374.04 ($546.85) in trading today, up more than 2.6 per cent, and was trading at £371.94 by 1pm (GMT), according to Coindesk. Prices have risen by around 20 per cent since 28 May, [...]
Pensions lifeboat may have to take on 33,000 UK pensioners of bankrupt Canadian telecoms giant Nortel May 31, 2016 The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), the lifeboat set to rescue BHS pensioners and possibly those of British Steel, may also have to take on the 33,000 UK pensioners of bankrupt Canadian telecoms giant Nortel Networks. Nortel's British pensioners are one of three groups of creditors wrangling over $7.3bn (£5bn) worth of assets. The long-running battle boils [...]
Australia set to auction off bitcoin stash as Chinese demand propels the price higher May 30, 2016 Australia is going to sell off £7.5m worth of bitcoin it confiscated as “proceeds of crime” during 2015. The auction will be the first of its kind outside of the US. Separately, the price of bitcoin has jumped over the last few days after a surge in demand out of China. Read more: Ethereum's value is already up 1,100 [...]