Building more homes will not solve London’s housing crisis – here’s why December 5, 2016 Let's be clear, the housing crisis is not a crisis just because there is a shortage in housing. It's a crisis because there is a real problem with our access to affordable housing and not enough is being done about it. London homes are the second most over-priced in the world, according to a recent [...]
How to prepare your portfolio for inflation December 2, 2016 Concerns about inflation were already on the rise. Donald Trump’s victory in the US election has further stoked expectations that price pressure, absent in most Western economies since the financial crisis, may make a return in 2017 and beyond. The basics Inflation is a measure of how fast the prices of goods and services [...]
How to prepare your portfolio for inflation December 2, 2016 Concerns about inflation were already on the rise. Donald Trump’s victory in the US election has further stoked expectations that price pressure, absent in most Western economies since the financial crisis, may make a return in 2017 and beyond. The basics Inflation is a measure of how fast the prices of goods and services are [...]
Airbnb has introduced a new rule in London which should cut down on “professional” hosts December 1, 2016 Until recently, the sharing economy has been a bit "Wild West" – but all that could be about to change in London, after one of its major players, Airbnb, announced a crackdown on so-called professional hosts. In a statement today the company said it is introducing automated limits on listings to prevent an entire home [...]
Google just promised everyone in the UK free digital skills training November 15, 2016 The boss of Google has promised every single person in the UK free digital skills training. In a speech in London today, Sundar Pichai will say: “No matter where you live, no matter where you’re from, no matter what your job is – you deserve access to all the information, education, and opportunity the web has [...]
Rich grandparents are your ticket to a comfortable retirement: why liberalising inheritance tax rules could significantly reduce the UK’s pension saving shortfall November 2, 2016 It is no great secret that today’s young people are at serious risk of being poor in their retirement. While asset-rich baby boomers hoard their wealth, eight years after the financial crisis, working age people are stuck with low wage inflation, and depressed returns on any savings they can scrape together after paying their rent [...]
London must shake off its complacency over housing and infrastructure if it’s to thrive post-Brexit October 31, 2016 Rarely has a ranking of the world’s greatest cities been released in the past few years without London at its top, or very near it. PwC recently named the capital the world’s best city for opportunity, praising its economic clout, its attractiveness to foreign direct investment, its highly skilled workforce, and its status as a [...]
Home is where the smart is: City A.M. meets Krystian Zajac October 31, 2016 When I first came to the UK, I was living in a tiny flat with five other people. I was educated, but washing dishes for a living. I did not care, the money was still better than what I got in Poland,” says Krystian Zajac, founder of Andrew Lucas. As far as rags to riches [...]
Giving Uber drivers “worker” status is bad news for passengers, the gig economy and the drivers themselves October 28, 2016 Friday's decision to grant two Uber drivers worker status is bad news not just for Uber, but for its drivers, its customers, and the future of the “gig economy” as a whole. It is primarily bad for Uber drivers. We know for a fact that, by vast margins (five to one), they don’t want to [...]
The Big Bang 30 years on: How the City of London has changed since 1986 October 26, 2016 Nothing stands still in the City. The world's financial services powerhouse has seen it all, from boom and bust to bouncebacks and Brexit. Its skyline has changed almost beyond recognition over the last three decades, as have the markets it serves. As we mark the 30th anniversary of the so-called Big Bang, we cannot help [...]