RBS’ mis-selling fine is certain to highlight American hypocrisy, Worldpay’s bid invitation and no rush for the new Ofcom chair July 7, 2017 It was hard to suppress a laugh last week at the sanctimonious angst of corporate America at the fine doled out by Brussels over Google’s anti-competitive behaviour by favouring its shopping service over those of rivals. Those Europeans, came the wailing from across the Atlantic, are extracting money from flagship US companies with little justification. [...]
Hedge funds don’t need masses of assets under management to make a profit, a new study from GPP and Aima reveals, contrary to previous figures July 6, 2017 Small hedge funds are able to turn a profit and expand with considerably less than $100m (£77.28m) in assets under management, a new study has revealed from prime broker GPP and trade body the Alternative Investment Management Association (Aima). The survey of 135 smaller hedge funds across the globe found that the average break-even point, [...]
Steve Aoki – the cake-slinging, social media conquering, genre-defying superstar DJ – on his philosophy for life July 5, 2017 You can spend several hours watching international superstar DJ Steve Aoki chucking cakes at his fans. Big rectangular cakes, the kind you’d get on a round-numbered birthday or at a bad wedding, hurled with force from the stage into an expectant crowd. By the time the cake is airborne the audience has been whipped into [...]
SoftBank could be about to make Deliveroo a unicorn with talks of investment from Apple and Saudi-backed Vision Fund July 2, 2017 One of the UK’s star tech startups, Deliveroo, is on the verge of becoming a so-called unicorn, with SoftBank in talks over a potential investment. SoftBank’s Vision Fund, a huge new tech investment vehicle which has already backed several British tech companies, is in discussions to take a stake in the food delivery firm that [...]
Tour de France 2017: Team Sky has full support of the media giant despite a tumultuous year June 30, 2017 Team Sky has the full backing of the executives at the media behemoth despite enduring a year plagued by doping allegations, according to a key director at Britain’s most successful cycling team. Sky has dominated professional cycling in recent years, winning four of the last five editions of the Tour de France, which starts on [...]
Virtual reality rocket: Sector set to swell with Brits owning 16m headsets within five years June 14, 2017 The UK virtual reality sector is set to grow at an annual rate of 76 per cent in coming years, making it the fastest growing UK entertainment and media market. A report by PwC released today estimated the entertainment and media sector will be a £72bn market in the UK by 2021. It is forecast [...]
RBS closes in on £3.6bn settlement over US mortgage bond mis-selling June 12, 2017 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is close to agreeing a multi-billion pound fine with US authorities over the mis-selling of mortgage bonds, according to reports. Discussions are understood to be at an advanced stage between the state-backed lender and the US Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), according to reports by Sky News. A settlement is [...]
Exclusive interview: Theresa May says she’ll defend the City as she warns EU that nowhere else can do what it does June 1, 2017 Theresa May’s brand of conservatism doesn’t include a natural affection for global financial institutions. In almost every sense, she’s more Maidenhead than Moorgate. And yet surprisingly, she has a stronger connection to the City than any Prime Minister since John Major, having spent 20 years in and around the Square Mile first with the Bank [...]
Hollywood movie company Film Finances considers London IPO June 1, 2017 A Hollywood film financier is said to be plotting a float on the London Stock Exchange. Los Angeles-headquartered Film Finances Inc could be making its way for a UK initial public offering (IPO) during the summer. Sky News reported that the flotation is being overseen by Liberum Capital and could value the firm at several [...]
Going off grid: How I spent a week living in an ‘apocalypse dome’ May 30, 2017 The more we learn about the effects of social media on the human psyche, the worse it seems to get. The planet is hooked on dopamine squirts triggered by clever algorithms developed by the world’s finest minds, for the sole purpose of keeping us scrolling. And scrolling, and scrolling. We’re connected to thousands of other humans from the second we wake to the [...]