City of London Corporation criticised for awarding above-inflation pay rises during coronavirus crisis June 30, 2020 A London think tank has slammed the City of London Corporation for giving staff a pay rise above inflation levels during the coronavirus crisis. The Corporation recently confirmed that all its staff would receive a 2.25 per cent yearly pay rise from 2020 to 2023 as well as an additional 5 per cent annual increase [...]
Government urged to fast-track 5G roll out to boost coronavirus recovery June 29, 2020 The government could boost overall economic activity by £150bn if the UK were to speed up 5G rollout by two years, a new report has found, as Britain seeks to bolster its economy from the financial turmoil of coronavirus. A new report published today by Vodafone found that the British economy could see productivity gains [...]
“Go back to basics”: valuations during COVID-19 June 23, 2020 Aswath Damodaran had some advice for the audience at the 73rd CFA Institute Annual Virtual Conference: don’t abandon valuation fundamentals during the coronavirus crisis. “It is precisely times like these that matter most,” said Damodaran, who is the Kerschner Family Chair Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University. “You [...]
Let the economy reboot itself June 10, 2020 How can the government best support the UK’s economic recovery after the crushing impact of the pandemic? Today, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Civitas are publishing a joint report on the economics of the Covid-19 crisis, written by Professor Len Shackleton and myself. Many are arguing that the crisis has demonstrated the need for [...]
EXCLUSIVE: Dan Simerman talks Covid-19, Digital Assets and IOTA June 9, 2020 Dan Simerman is an investor and technical product manager well versed in consumer psychology, digital assets and open source software development. Dan has a history of building software for Fortune 50 financial institutions, multinational media companies and strategic consulting firms. As Head of Financial Relations at the IOTA Foundation, Dan’s goal is to support technology [...]
The impact of AI in a transformed world June 3, 2020 Artificial intelligence has entered the mainstream and the fourth industrial revolution is continuing apace, leading sceptics to question what this means for the average employee. As we look towards the re-opening of the economy, it is clear that AI offers huge potential for a new world of work that is safer, more productive and more [...]
High tech the solution for the returning High Street May 29, 2020 With Number 10 announcing that retailers can begin to re-open from June 15th, all eyes turn to the fortunes of the businesses which make up Britain’s high streets and bring colour to our communities. After three months of closure for most of these retailers, the news will provoke a mixture of reactions. Most are desperate [...]
Understanding what’s driving market reactions is vital May 20, 2020 Our lack of understanding of the coronavirus has added to the challenges confronting politicians and policy makers in recent months, and this in turn has fed the uncertainty impacting financial markets. There are six broad areas influencing markets: the virus itself; the economic picture; the corporate outlook; policy; second-round effects; and lessons from the past. [...]
Lifting the lockdown: Boris Johnson’s speech in full May 10, 2020 On Sunday evening the Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation, outlining the steps Britain will take as the coronavirus lockdown lifts. Below is the transcript of his speech. It is now almost two months since the people of this country began to put up with restrictions on their freedom – your freedom – of [...]
Asian stocks slip as Donald Trump blames virus on China May 4, 2020 Asian stocks slipped this morning as renewed tensions between the US and China over the origin of coronavirus stunted optimism about the lifting of lockdown measures. With China and Japan on holiday, other Asia-Pacific shares fell 2.5 per cent, according to an MSCI index. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng returned from a two-session holiday to suffer [...]