IWG share price jumps 20 per cent after talks of takeover from Lonestar, Starwood Capital and TDR Capital May 14, 2018 Shares in serviced office firm International Workplace Group (IWG) jumped more than 20 per cent this morning after it was revealed that the company was in talks for a full share takeover. The company confirmed on Friday that it had interest from three seperate private equity firms: Lonestar, Starwood Capital and TDR Capital over the [...]
Voice search will finally force marketers to use plain English May 14, 2018 Half (50%) of all searches will involve voice by 2020, according to ComScore, thanks to the rise of voice assistants. At last, organisations will need to ditch marketing jargon and speak the language of their audience if they want to be found online, or they will simply lose their business. Around a decade ago, I [...]
A Labour party that couldn’t even smash the local elections should be seriously worried May 8, 2018 At first glance, Thursday’s local elections seemed to offer something for everyone (except for Ukip, of course). But Labour should be worried – really, really worried. First, the upside – at least for self-styled progressives. The referendum has clearly removed Ukip’s main raison d’etre, and a series of soap-opera-style leadership contests has rendered it a [...]
Runners and riders: Who will replace Mark Carney as Bank of England governor? May 8, 2018 The Bank of England will this week reveal its latest monetary policy decision, with investors having performed an abrupt u-turn on their bets it will raise rates. Investor bets indicate a probability of only seven per cent for a May hike, compared to an implied probability of more than 71 per cent at the end [...]
London blockchain startup Cobalt nabs investment from the Singapore Exchange May 4, 2018 Cobalt, a London-based startup which is aiming to shift foreign exchange (FX) markets onto blockchain technology, now has Asia’s largest currencies exchange on board. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) today made a “strategic investment” in Cobalt, which aims to use distributed ledger technology (the tech behind bitcoin and blockchain) to improve firms’ infrastructure and risk management. [...]
nHouse founders Nick Fulford and Richard Hywel Evans on the need for modular housing in the UK May 2, 2018 While we all know what disruptive tech looks like, what does disruptive housing look like? By almost universal consent, three problems need to be addressed in the current market – affordability, sustainability and quality – and whoever conquers all three will seriously shake up the UK market. Yet architect Richard Hywel Evans thinks he, along [...]
Apple defies critics by meeting expectations on iPhone sales in first quarter results May 1, 2018 Apple allayed industry fears that it would be hit by declining sales of its flagship product by selling 52.2m iPhones in the first quarter. The figures Shares in the tech giant were up by about four per cent in after-hours trading as it posted a 16 per cent climb in revenue to $61.1bn (£44.8bn). Sales [...]
New home secretary Sajid Javid should develop an immigration system fit for 21st century, post-Brexit Britain April 30, 2018 The appointment of Sajid Javid as home secretary may have been designed to stem the blood from a self-inflicted wound, but it could have far reaching consequences for the government – and for UK immigration policy. Javid is a red-blooded free-marketeer, and marks a break with the metropolitan centrism of his predecessor, Amber Rudd, whose [...]
Amber Rudd is a moderate but we need more than warm(ish) words on immigration April 27, 2018 Amid all Brexit uncertainty the silver bullet that could reassure business is easy access to global talent. This is not incompatible with a strong independent immigration policy, but at present the government has not set out its vision for post-Brexit immigration. Instead that void is filled with the noise generated by the Windrush scandal and [...]
DEBATE: With Comcast and Fox bidding over Sky, does it matter that it will be owned by a US company? April 27, 2018 With Comcast and Fox bidding over Sky, does it matter that it will be owned by a US company? Alastair Benn, editor of Reaction Weekend, says YES. Pre-Murdoch, the British media was a pretty conservative, comfortable place. There was a recognisable journalistic culture derived from the close proximity of newsroom, editor’s office, and printing press [...]