What slowdown? JP Morgan says Asian companies like Tata and Nikkei will drive global M&A boom in the quest for long-term growth November 19, 2015 The good times look here to stay for the global M&A market, as 88 per cent of Asian companies say mergers and acquisitions are vital to their growth strategy, according to a market report from JP Morgan. Over the last 12 months, deal volumes in the Asia Pacific region have grown 61 per cent $1.05 [...]
As Christmas adverts battle it out, Google Android beats Disney, Budweiser, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief to become the most shared advert of 2015 November 19, 2015 John Lewis and Sainsbury's might be battling it out over who will take the number one spot for this year's Christmas advert, but the two retailers are barely on the radar when it comes to the most popular advert of the year so far. That honour goes to Google Android's Friends Furever campaign, featuring some surprising animal friendships. [...]
Fintech Lookahead 2016: The disruptors you should be looking out for November 19, 2015 What can we expect to see from the fintech industry over the coming year? And what kinds of companies are leading the charge? In its 2015 Global Banking Annual Review, McKinsey said that “banks are under attack from new technology companies and others seeking to poach their customers. To date, banks’ losses to attackers have [...]
It’s time investors got behind our world-beating creative industries November 18, 2015 Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK last month was largely overshadowed by concerns regarding his country’s impact on Britain’s steel industry. Even so, almost £40bn worth of trade and investment deals were announced during the visit, yet one significant part of the UK economy was overlooked in the commentary: the creative industries [...]
One Direction lawyers Lee & Thompson announces merger with Forbes Anderson Free November 18, 2015 Law firms Lee & Thompson and Forbes Anderson Free announced today that they would be merging on 1 January 2016. Media and entertainment litigators Forbes Anderson Free will be moving into creative industry specialists Lee & Thompson’s West End offices and adopting the Lee & Thompson name. The merger will boost partner numbers at Lee [...]
Police give Copenhagen Airport all clear after evacuating Terminal three over suspicious bag November 18, 2015 Update: Danish police have brought the Copenhagen Airport security alert to an end, confirming there are no signs of any explosive devices on the site. Terminal three at Copenhagen Airport was evacuated because of a suspicious bag. Police arrived "in strength" because of "suspicious circumstances", and evacuated part of the airport when they found a bag they believed to be [...]
Paris attacks: At least two dead and seven arrested as French raid in Saint Denis, northern Paris, comes to an end November 18, 2015 A raid by French policy in the northern Paris suburb of Saint Denis has ended with the death of at least two suspects, following the overnight operations in the wake of Friday's terror attacks. Local media having reported that two suspects died during the early-morning shoot-out: a woman who detonated a suicide belt she was wearing and [...]
Why it’s time for Ofcom to red card the rising cost of watching live football on TV November 17, 2015 The ever-increasing cost of watching Premier League matches on live TV is hitting fans where it hurts. UK fans pay at least twice as much to watch half the games as fans in Europe. In Germany, France, Spain and Italy, all their live games are available to watch at a much lower cost than in [...]
We’ve nothing to fear from job-killing automation – and the pace of change will be manageable too November 17, 2015 The chief economist of the Bank of England Andy Haldane has been in the news with his prediction that up to 15m jobs in the UK are at risk of being lost to automation. This is a huge number, around half the total number of people in work today. Haldane injected a note [...]
Peak emoji? How Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year 2015 rose in popularity and why it may soon be over – in charts November 17, 2015 Forget selfies and vaping, the word on your lips – or character on your phone – should be an emoji, if it's not already. One single emoji, to be exact, has taken the world by storm this year and the face known as "tears of joy" has been crowned the word (in perhaps the loosest sense of the [...]