US pulls back from applying fresh tariffs to Chinese tech goods August 13, 2019 The Trump administration has pulled back from slapping tariffs on certain products from China such as laptops and mobile phones, providing relief for jittery global investors. Read more: Tariffs hurting US manufacturers, says Trump’s ex-economic adviser At the start of the month the US announced it would apply 10 per cent tariffs to $300bn of [...]
Lower oil prices hit Saudi Aramco earnings August 12, 2019 Saudi Aramco is still the world’s most profitable company, it revealed today, despite a drop in revenue brought on by lower oil prices. The formerly secretive Saudi oil giant said that pre-tax income had fallen during the first half of the year. The results were part of Aramco’s first half-year report. Read more: Oil price [...]
It’s fine to fail: Why we need to teach people the good, the bad, and the ugly of building a business August 12, 2019 Every entrepreneur has a story of past failure that they’re not afraid to share. I’m no exception. Back in 2010, when Octopus began investing in film production companies, we turned down the opportunity to invest in a small British film called The King’s Speech, which went on to gross £250m worldwide and win four Oscars. [...]
Over 5m savers at risk from pension scams August 7, 2019 More than 5m pension savers across the UK are at risk from common scamming tactics, underlining current concerns over fraudsters targeting people’s retirement cash pots. A new report from two of Britain’s top financial bodies has found that 42 per cent of pension savers, which equates to over 5m people, could be in danger of [...]
The new King of the Jungle: Why Disney could be a spoiler for Netflix August 7, 2019 In 2017 Dana Brunetti, the producer behind hit Netflix series House of Cards, declared that appointment-viewing TV was dead. Gone were the days of scheduled programming, he said. On-demand binge-watching was here to stay. Brunetti’s show helped propel Netflix to the forefront of the streaming landscape and, two years later, on-demand TV is now the [...]
UK M&A deal values more than halve as global tensions take their toll August 6, 2019 The value of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in Europe slumped during the first six months of 2019, as geopolitical concerns took their toll on the continent’s financial services industry. In the UK investors completed 97 deals totalling £6.3bn over the first half of 2019, plunging by more than half from £13.5bn when 103 deals [...]
Watchdog says ‘bad apples’ still able to find new jobs in financial services August 5, 2019 Financial services employees with poor conduct records are still able to move to new companies, despite efforts by the regulator to improve conduct in the sector. A review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that “rolling bad apples” continued to be an issue in the sector, despite the introduction of new tougher regulations. The [...]
US threatens ‘no free trade deal’ unless UK scrap digital tax plans August 3, 2019 The US is set to demand that the UK drop a new digital services tax if a free trade deal is to be agreed between the countries The measure, introduced by former chancellor Philip Hammond in 2018, is due to come into effect in April next year. Read more: Global markets recoil and China wants [...]
Global markets recoil and China warns of retaliation after Trump trade war threat August 2, 2019 Stock markets around the world have fallen after a sharp escalation in the United States’ trade war with China. Indices in the US fell after the open, amid fears of an economic slowdown if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose a further 10 per cent tariff on $300bn worth of Chinese [...]
Trump tariff talk spooks Wall Street August 1, 2019 US president Donald Trump sent shockwaves through Wall Street tonight after revealing plans to slap more tariffs on Chinese goods in the latest trade battle between Washington and Beijing. In a string of tweets, Trump spooked investors after announcing 10 per cent tariffs on another $300bn (£247bn) of goods following this week’s talks between the [...]