Bank of England: Economists split as monetary policymakers set out into the unknown | City A.M. July 30, 2018 The Bank of England is widely expected to raise interest rates on Thursday, but the decision by the monetary policy committee (MPC) is likely to be one of the most controversial in recent memory. While most City observers now think rates will rise, economists are split as to whether hiking borrowing costs amid a weak [...]
Austria’s Chancellor tells Theresa May to avoid a ‘hard Brexit’ | City A.M. July 28, 2018 Austria’s chancellor Sebastian Kurz has told Theresa May it is important the UK avoids a hard and disorderly Brexit as the prime minister continued her charm offensive on EU member states. In a trip to Salzbug, May held talks with both Kurz and the Czech prime minister Andrei Babis to sell the appeal of trading [...]
UK adtech startup Mirriad signs deal with Chinese behemoth Tencent | City A.M. July 26, 2018 London-based video-advertising technology startup Mirriad has today signed a deal with Chinese media giant Tencent. The deal will utilise Mirriad’s in-video tech to place ads in online video content, even once its in post-production. City A.M. understands that staff from Mirriad will join and pitch with Tencent’s advertising teams as part of the deal, from [...]
YouGov challenger GlobalWebIndex raises $40m from Refinery29’s growth fund backer | City A.M. July 25, 2018 London-based market research firm GlobalWebIndex has raised $40m (£30.4m) series A first round from Stripes Group, a New York growth fund that has previously backed the likes of Refinery29, Grubhub and Udemy. Founded in 2009, GlobalWebIndex has consistently doubled its revenue and headcount year after year without seeking any outside funding, and includes the likes [...]
Facebook to use AI to combat Russian interference ahead of US mid-term elections | City A.M. July 25, 2018 Social media giant Facebook has said it will start using artificial intelligence to fight people including Russian operatives who use false information to influence public opinion on its website. Speaking to media, the company said they were expecting there to be activity From Russian agents and other parties on the site ahead of the mid-term [...]
The Girl Power puzzle: What women really, really do (and don’t) want | City A.M. July 25, 2018 Girl Power seems to be the feminist mantra these days – on T-shirts, mugs, and across a whole shelf of sparkly notebooks in Paperchase. Does this phrase make anyone else feel a little bit nauseous? (And this from an original Spice Girls fan.) Let’s start with “girl” – what’s so bad about that? Well, nothing, [...]
Facebook suspends another data analytics firm over surveillance concerns | City A.M. July 21, 2018 Tech giant Facebook has suspended another analytics firm during its own investigation into data sharing and collection on the social media platform. Crimson Hexagon, a US company offers “consumer insights” and works with government agencies around the world. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the firm had contracts “to analyse public Facebook data for [...]
Last Week in the City: August rate rise now less likely July 20, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (16 to 20 July 2018). The chances of an interest rate rise at the Bank of England’s August meeting appeared to recede this week after inflation data was more subdued than expected and retail sales data [...]
Insurance giant Aviva sells Friends Provident for £340m to International Financial Group subsidiary July 19, 2018 Insurance giant Aviva will sell its loss-making Friends Provident arm to International Financial Group for £340m, the firm announced this morning. The sale follows a strategic review of Friends Provident International Limited (FPIL), which made a post-tax loss of £2m last year and remitted no cash back to the parent company, Aviva said. The sale [...]
London deserves a mayor who believes in the city’s bright entrepreneurial future July 19, 2018 Come March 2019, Britain will have left the EU, but our city will continue to be the most vibrant and dynamic economic urban economy on earth. Londoners deserve a mayor who represents this and protects our position of strength. Unlike Sadiq Khan, he or she can ill-afford to be sucked in to talking down London’s [...]