Promoting ESG to align the insurance industry to new stakeholder demands November 2, 2021 The global re/insurance industry faces both asset and liability exposure to the climate crisis, as well as opportunities to drive meaningful progress towards global resilience. As a result, insurance and reinsurance are crucial elements in a successful and inclusive transition to a green economy, helping clients to implement ESG mandates, as well as focusing on [...]
THG shares hit record rock bottom after Blackrock sheds half its stake November 2, 2021 Shares in THG have plunged to an all-time low this morning on the news that its largest institutional shareholder Blackrock sold half of its stake in the ecommerce group after a tumultuous month. Blackrock has sold 58m shares in THG at a price of 195p each, valuing the deal at £113.1m, according to its bookrunner [...]
Small businesses look to COP26 for fiscal support in the great sustainability push November 2, 2021 Small businesses are hoping COP26 will unlock more financial support and policy to help them become more sustainable, according to a new report from the Federation of Small Business (FSB). The majority of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are concerned about climate change, but just one in three have a plan in place to [...]
Interview: Mike Adams, CEO of Purple, on changing the disability conversation November 1, 2021 Mike Adams, CEO of Purple, shares with Lysanne Currie his mission to change the disability conversation from disadvantage and inequality to one about potential and value. This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Mike Adams has a useful exercise for leaders to try with their own company website. He calls it the no-mouse test. When [...]
Publicans loaned £138m to own businesses in battle for survival November 1, 2021 Pub owners injected £138m in loans to their own businesses to keep them afloat during the pandemic. Private equity investment firm Growthdeck found that some 1,730 UK pubs and bar companies ran so short of cash last year that their directors had to make loans to them from their own personal resources. As hospitality venues [...]
Five charts which explain what is going on with inflation November 1, 2021 “Output gap”, “bottlenecks”, “core inflation”, “base effects”, “second-round effects” “labour participation rate”. These are some of the key industry terms essential to understanding what’s going on with inflation. Soaring job vacancies reflect the strong economic recovery of the world’s major economies, as Covid-19 induced restrictions have been gradually eased. Shortages of materials, energy and transport [...]
Which stock markets look cheap? November 1, 2021 The last time I wrote an update of stock market valuations was back in January. A great deal has happened in the world since then, but from a valuations standpoint, precious little has changed. Nothing is cheap. And the markets which were most expensive in January are still the most expensive. And those which were relatively [...]
Can UK handle a rate rise as economy rebounds? November 1, 2021 The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the month of August after latest estimates showed GDP contracted in July by 0.1%. July was disrupted by a spike in infections and tougher restrictions on self-isolation and testing for anyone in contact with those testing positive for Covid-19. This was known as the “pingdemic”, referring to the [...]
Dealmakers brace themselves for 2022 surge in UK M&A November 1, 2021 A survey of top dealmakers has revealed widespread conviction that the number of M&A deals in the UK will surge in the next 12 months, driven by an uptick in distressed deals as well as an expected flurry of activity in the TMT sector. After the number of mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies dipped [...]
Culture Secretary urges public to buy newspapers in fight against big tech misinformation November 1, 2021 Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries MP calls on the public to buy newspapers and visit news sites in a quest to support the British press.