EU referendum: Asda, HSBC, Vodafone and nearly 200 sign letter saying Brexit would threaten jobs – but Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s are not on the list February 23, 2016 The bosses of HSBC, BT, Vodafone and Asda are among those to have put their name to an open letter backing the remain camp and Prime Minister David Cameron's reforms in Europe. More than a third of the UK's biggest companies were represented in the letter, which was published in The Times this morning, saying they represented [...]
Facebook is biggest new TV advertiser as total ad spend passes record £5bn February 23, 2016 Facebook was the biggest spending new advertiser on British television last year as total spend hit record levels. Spending on TV advertising – from traditional 30 second spots to sponsorship, on-demand catch up platforms and product placement – hit £5.27bn in 2015, a rise of 7.4 per cent on the previous year and growth not seen since the end of the financial crisis. [...]
EU referendum: We should be very wary of apocalyptic predictions about Brexit, such as those from CitiBank and Goldman Sachs February 22, 2016 In the past few weeks, banks including CitiBank and Goldman Sachs have come out in what is seemingly a coordinated effort to ignite a wave of fear about what Brexit might mean for the UK economy. Unfortunately, the assumptions underpinning their statements are highly selective to the extent that we could be forgiven for thinking they [...]
Get out your glad-rags: City heavyweights have been shortlisted for the British LGBT Awards 2016 February 18, 2016 It's been called the "Gay Oscars" by loyal fans; the shortlist for this year's British LGBT Awards is now public, and London's financial firms are forerunners for a few gongs. Shattering perceptions of stuffy conservatism, business leaders and global corporations including Barclays, Citi and Goldman Sachs have been shortlisted for accolades ahead of the big night at London's Grand [...]
Warren Buffett values companies with strong brands: Should you? February 5, 2016 Coca-Cola, American Express, Heinz, Warren Buffett is a well-known advocate of buying and holding familiar companies with strong brands. “The dynamics of capitalism guarantee that competitors will repeatedly assault any business ‘castle’ that is earning high returns,” he wrote in 2007. “Therefore a formidable barrier such as a company being the low-cost producer or possessing [...]
City Moves for 2 February 2016 | Who’s switching jobs February 2, 2016 Brewin Dolphin Brewin Dolphin, an independent provider of personalised, discretionary wealth management services, has announced that Heather Sonnet has joined the company to launch a new office in Cambridge to cater for the growing number of people in the area seeking financial planning and investment advice. Heather, who joins from Almary Green Investments, is a [...]
After a Brexit war game found prospects for the UK outside the EU are bleak, should we take the result seriously? January 27, 2016 Rajesh Agrawal, founder and chief executive of RationalFX and Xendpay and business adviser to Labour’s London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan, says Yes. The EU gives us access without barriers to 500m customers, £24bn of foreign investment and the clout of negotiating as part of the world’s largest trade bloc. Britain could of course go it alone, [...]
Unilever is going to make Magnum and Cornetto ice creams smaller to help consumers “make healthier choices” January 23, 2016 Unilever is going to cut the size of its ice cream products aimed at adults, just in time for spring and summer. The multinational firm, which produces Magnum and Cornetto, as well as Ben & Jerry's, said it would be shrinking its ice creams to help consumers "make healthier choices". Read more: I scream, you scream, which [...]
FTSE 100 opens higher despite weak Chinese economic data as miners including Anglo America, Glencore and BHP Billiton rally January 19, 2016 The FTSE 100 index opened higher today despite data from China that showed its economy growing at its slowest rate in 25 years. The UK's blue-chip index opened 1.64 per cent up at 5,872 points, led higher by miners. Yesterday markets were weighed down by "continued risk aversion and weakness in oil prices, as concerns grow over further deflationary forces rippling [...]
Unilever warns of “tougher market conditions” in 2016 despite smashing sales expectations January 19, 2016 Battling currency headwinds and slowing global growth, consumer goods giant Unilever has warned of “high volatility” and tougher conditions in the year to come, despite posting underlying sales growth that beat expectations. The figures The FTSE-listed consumer goods firm posted underlying sales growth of 4.9 per cent for the last three months of 2015, a [...]