FTSE 100 drops below 7,000 as Unilever and Tesco share prices fall after Marmite row October 13, 2016 The FTSE 100 has fallen further from its record high as markets digest some shock weak trade figures from China and the US Federal Reserve looks on course to hike interest rates. The bluechip index tumbled below 7,000 points to stand down for the week after reaching a record intraday high of 7,129 on Monday. Miners, [...]
US Federal Reserve: Rate hike delay was “close call” October 12, 2016 The US dollar crept higher this evening after the Federal Reserve revealed it is on course to hike interest rates by the end of the year. Published this evening, minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), held in mid-September showed rate-setters acknowledged it was a "close call" not to [...]
How The Clean Space’s Charlie Mowat controlled his inner control freak October 11, 2016 "I’m Charlie Mowat and I’m a control freak.” Those opening words launched a recent Leap 100 roundtable. But the founder of The Clean Space wasn’t alone. The room was full of entrepreneurs; each of whom struggle with the same problem. Success – while preferable to the alternative – brings its own challenges. After Oxford University and [...]
Here we go again: Sterling drops against the dollar October 10, 2016 A bad start to the week for currency traders, as the pound dropped against the dollar and the euro, adding to drastic losses at the end of last week. Sterling was up-and-down in morning trading, before an afternoon sell-off gripped the currency, taking it down 0.5 per cent against the greenback to $1.2371. Against the [...]
Sterling barely shrugs against the dollar as US job openings disappoint in September October 7, 2016 The number of new job openings in the US edged up to 156,000 in September, figures published today showed. That's up from 151,000 in August, but lower than the 175,000 expected, suggesting the economy is holding up, despite jitters over the outcome of November's Presidential election. Meanwhile, the jobless rate rose to five per cent, up [...]
Talks to avoid Southern Rail strikes going ahead next week have failed, according to the RMT October 6, 2016 Talks to avoid Southern Rail strikes going ahead next week have failed, according to the RMT. Southern Rail and union officials held talks from 10am in a bid to hash out their differences and avoid a series of strikes kicking off next week. The strike dates announced by the RMT are: 00:01 BST Tuesday 11 [...]
US rate rise on the agenda as services sector storms ahead October 5, 2016 A pre-election rate hike in the US is back on the cards after a stellar performance from the country's services firms in September. The sector, which makes up around two-thirds of the world's largest economy, grew at its fastest pace this year, according to the closely-watching ISM non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI). The PMI came [...]
The new centre ground: The full text of Theresa May’s Conservative Party conference speech October 5, 2016 In the speech which closed the Conservative Party conference, Theresa May spoke of a country in transition, and new opportunities. The full 7,600 words is below – although if you'd rather a cut-down version, her best quotes are here – or you can read how businesses reacted. The new centre ground: May's speech in full When [...]
Commuters crowdfund £26,000 to launch legal challenge against DfT over Southern Rail crisis October 5, 2016 A fed up group of commuters has gone further than the average Londoner in an effort to tackle their travel delays and disruptions. The Association of British Commuters, a pressure group created after months of ongoing turmoil on Southern Rail, set up a crowdfunding website for a challenge of the Department for Transport's handling of the situation. [...]
Our infantile political class is failing to appreciate the scale of Britain’s challenges October 4, 2016 A country on the brink of a historic transition. An economy in need of serious, long-term thinking. A wider world that, as ever, remains a work in progress. A swathe of our own population here at home that remains on the margin. These are serious, generation-spanning challenges that require all of us – whether in business, [...]