Why divesting from tobacco stocks is pointless virtue signalling June 26, 2017 This week marks the 10 year anniversary of the smoking ban in England, and tobacco is once again making headlines. Not content with the government prohibiting smoking in public places, various funds and companies have bought into the ludicrous divestment movement which seeks to bring down industries by trading their shares. The Guardian started the [...]
These are the 100 most disruptive startups in the world (and a third are from the UK): Roman Abramovich-backed Storedot, AI chip maker Graphcore and cancer detection scientists at Grail top list June 1, 2017 A Bristol-based startup developing computer chips for artificial intelligence, an app for helping kids manage money, and a fintech just backed by Aviva, are among the UK startups to be named the most disruptive in the world. AI chip firm Graphcore was ranked second in the annual list identifying companies with the potential to “influence, [...]
Aviva just backed insurance focused fintech startup Neos and will probably acquire one soon, says CEO Mark Wilson May 25, 2017 Aviva is splashing cash on a startup focusing on insurance for connected homes in the latest signal of the insurers intent when it comes to technology – and it may even stretch to buying a small tech firm in future, it has revealed. The venture arm of Aviva has led a £5m series A funding [...]
Canadian pension fund PSP boss Andre Bourbonnais: We’ve picked London as our base as it’ll be Europe’s financial heartland after Brexit May 10, 2017 One of Canada’s largest pension fund managers has picked London as its new European headquarters, insisting the UK capital “is and will remain the financial centre of Europe”. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), which serves the Royal Canadian Mounted Police alongside other civil servants and boasts C$125.8bn (£70.7bn) of assets under management, will [...]
Responsible Business Week 2017: Business must use technology responsibly or risk exacerbating society’s divides April 25, 2017 Some people might think that Responsible Business is a contradiction in terms; that this week’s Business in the Community Responsible Business Week will leave companies free to act as selfishly as possible on the other 358 days of the year. I certainly don’t believe that’s how it works. And yet we are living in a [...]
Six Nations 2017: Why Ireland vs England is “massive” for sponsors Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day weekend March 18, 2017 As far as weekends go, they don’t come much bigger for Guinness. St. Patrick’s Day, of course, means pint pullers around the world will have spent an evening with one hand permanently affixed to the Guinness pump — it is estimated that the annual celebration can double the average day sales of the Diageo-owned brand. [...]
Who owns London? The capital’s biggest landowners: Qataris own as much land as the Queen and TfL put together March 17, 2017 A company part-owned by the Qataris own almost as much land in the capital as Transport for London and the Queen put together, a new ranking has suggested, while the City of London was ranked second. Figures compiled by Datscha for property trade bible Property Week showed Canary Wharf Group, which is joint-owned by Qatari [...]
Eddie Jones urges England to scale new heights to avoid Ireland gatecrashing Grand Slam party March 16, 2017 England head coach Eddie Jones insists his Six Nations champions will have to scale new heights in order to prevent Ireland gatecrashing their Grand Slam party on Saturday. Tournament victors England will become just the sixth side in history and first since the inception of the Six Nations in 2000 to claim back-to-back Grand Slams [...]
Betting: England set to re-write the history books in Dublin March 16, 2017 A place in history awaits England as they face Ireland on Saturday in the climax to this season’s Six Nations. Eddie Jones’ side stand on the brink of back-to-back Grand Slams, and a world record 19th consecutive Test victory – overtaking the mark set by New Zealand in 2015-16. In a time of political shocks and [...]
Close Brothers share price jumps after snaring Direct Line chairman Mike Biggs March 14, 2017 Close Brothers' share price jumped two per cent this morning after naming its new chairman and posting half-year numbers that were broadly in line with expectations. Direct Line chair Mike Biggs will join the investment firm's board with immediate effect, taking over from Strone Macpherson on 1 May. The figures Adjusted operating profit over the first six [...]