Markets roundup: Pound sterling rally hasn’t stopped the FTSE 100 from closing up January 26, 2018 London’s blue-chip index closed higher today despite a rally in the pound. The FTSE 100 index closed 0.6 per cent higher at 7,660.92 points. Meanwhile, the pound, which hit post-Brexit record highs week, got an extra boost against the dollar after UK GDP figures came in above expectations. The UK’s economy grew 0.5 per cent [...]
The digital nomads: How to pack a suitcase and start a new life working from abroad January 25, 2018 Who among us hasn’t dreamed of jacking in their day job to trade forex from a laptop in Malibu or open a beach bar in Thailand? You might have read The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss and asked why you haven’t yet “escaped the nine-to-five to live anywhere and join the new rich”. I [...]
Facebook hires Jerome Pesenti, an expert from UK startup BenevolentAI, to lead its artificial intelligence efforts January 24, 2018 Facebook has poached a top scientist from a UK tech startup to lead its artificial intelligence efforts. Jerome Pesenti is leaving BenevolentAI – a startup using machine learning technology to discover new drug treatments for diseases like motor neuron disease – to take on Facebook’s top job in artificial intelligence research. Read more: Facebook’s promising [...]
UK employment figures hit record high as wages rise by 2.5 per cent January 24, 2018 UK employment surged to a record high of 32.2m people in work between September and November 2017, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), pushing the pound up by 0.7 per cent against the dollar. The employment rate, which is the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in [...]
RBS is selling its London Bishopsgate headquarters in cost-cutting drive January 23, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is currently majority-owned by the UK government, is planning to flog its London headquarters post-2019 as it pushes ahead with an extreme cost-cutting drive. The bank will move out of the 280 Bishopsgate building back down the road to number 250, which it is planning to revamp later this [...]
Asset manager consolidation continues as Franklin Templeton swallows up Edinburgh Partners January 17, 2018 The big fish of the asset management world are continuing to hunt down their smaller rivals, as Franklin Templeton Investments today announced it is set to buy Edinburgh Partners. The Scottish asset manager, which currently manages around $10bn (£7.2bn), is speculated by market sources to have sold for a value in the region of £200m. [...]
Red alert on Brexit risks to financial services given by City of London Corporation January 14, 2018 Top lobbyists at the City of London Corporation have upped their rating of the risks posed by Brexit, according to their latest audit of the risks facing the Square Mile. The Corporation’s report for a meeting this week of the risk and audit committee shows an updated “red” rating in its corporate risk register, an [...]
It’s all about the midterms: Donald Trump is a wildcard, and Congress hangs in the balance January 12, 2018 At the very end of 2017, the Republican party finally passed its first major piece of legislation since the Trump administration came to power. After a year in which its opponents criticised it again and again for a lack of new policies, the party managed to push through the biggest overhaul of the tax system [...]
Trust the process: Philadelphia 76ers executives explain the mantra that defined an NBA revolution January 10, 2018 If the Philadelphia 76ers, one half of Thursday night’s NBA match at the O2 Arena, had come to London in another of their more recent seasons, the most effective marketing may have been to position the game as a basketball freak-show. Far from a showcase for globetrotting greats of the sport, a 76ers’ game would [...]
Micro Focus share price plummets after putting “operational improvement plans on hold” January 8, 2018 Shares in Micro Focus, the UK’s biggest technology firm, dived this morning after the group reported sales had dipped. Micro Focus, which bought Hewlett Packard Enterprise Software last year, was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, initially falling over 12 per cent before easing back. Shares are currently 9.45 per cent lower. Reported six-month [...]