The chancellor needs more than a rainy day fund to help Britain weather Brexit March 8, 2017 In his final Spring Budget, the chancellor was already weaning his audience from this once important spring affair, with little of significant economic policy substance announced. He was handed a gift by the Office for Budget Responsibility in the form of an upgraded outlook for 2017, in anticipation of more resilient consumer spending, although expectations for [...]
Spring Budget: The OBR is still too pessimistic about UK growth this year March 8, 2017 The biggest story in the Budget wasn’t big news. It had been well flagged in advance that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was revising up its GDP growth forecast to 2 per cent in 2017. In November last year, the OBR expected just 1.4 per cent GDP growth this year. HM Treasury’s latest monthly survey [...]
Celebrating International Women’s Day March 8, 2017 There is no doubt that more work needs to be done to close the gender gap across many industries, from the military to elected office to tech to asset management. Raising awareness is one step along this path. To that end, today — International Women’s Day — communities across the world will reflect on the [...]
Celebrating International Women’s Day March 8, 2017 There is no doubt that more work needs to be done to close the gender gap across many industries, from the military to elected office to tech to asset management. Raising awareness is one step along this path. To that end, today — International Women’s Day — communities across the world will reflect on the [...]
Britain can enjoy another golden age of advertising outside the EU March 3, 2017 Between the 1970s and 80s, British advertising grew rapidly from a cottage industry to eventually transform the UK into the creative capital of the world. London agencies began buying up their New York counterparts and acquiring the lion’s share of global marketing budgets. This process began long before we joined the Common Market. It had [...]
How to profit from the Chinese art market and bag some cutting edge paintings while you’re at it March 2, 2017 Which country has the world’s largest art market? Hint: if you’re thinking anything other than “China”, then you’re wrong. Art information website artprice.com estimates that in the first half of 2016, China accounted for 35.5 per cent of the $6.53bn global art sales. Someone out there is making a killing from the Chinese art market, [...]
Boots cuts 220 photo labs putting 400 jobs at risk March 1, 2017 Boots has announced it is closing 220 of its photo labs across the UK, including five in London, as weak demand for photo film services finally takes its toll. The closure of the in-store labs will put 400 jobs at risk, although a Boots spokesperson said the company would try to offer retraining and opportunities [...]
The government’s tapping up Lloyds, Barclays and Google for digital skills March 1, 2017 The government is turning to private business, including Lloyds, Barclays and Google, to help the UK become skilled for the modern age with ambitious new plans. It has announced partnerships with the well known institutions to offer training in digital across the UK, to push forward the country's march towards a digital economy, putting these skills on a par with literacy [...]
Derwent London’s shares rise on new lettings and special dividend February 28, 2017 Office developer Derwent London's share price climbed this morning after it lifted its final dividend by 25 per cent and also announced a special dividend. The figures In its results for the year ending 31 December, Derwent posted a net rental income growth of 5.2 per cent, up from £138.7m in 2015 to £145.9m last year. The [...]
Meggitt’s share price rockets as profit beats expectations and Trump promises more defence spending February 28, 2017 Shares in Meggitt rose more than 11 per cent this morning after the aerospace and defence firm beat forecasts and investors cheer on Donald Trump's plan to pump up defence spending. The figures The firm's reported revenue increased 21 per cent to £1.99bn in the year to 31 December 2016, helped by foreign currency movements, while underlying [...]