Business groups give Corbyn the thumbs down after CBI speech November 6, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s overtures to the business community have fallen on deaf ears this morning, with industry groups warning his policy pledges would undermine economic growth. Speaking at the annual CBI conference, Corbyn reiterated Labour’s plans to create a National Investment Bank and a National Education Service, and talked of “investing” in transport, energy [...]
Think locally, invest globally: Why Brexit isn’t the calamity some fear November 1, 2017 A year after the Brexit vote, the UK has managed to avoid a bear market and recession. Still, global diversification remains a key tool for investors. Fifteen months after Brits voted to leave the EU, the UK government is slowly ploughing ahead with Brexit. Invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in March was the [...]
The future may be powered by data, but it must be piloted by humans October 24, 2017 Of the six most valuable companies in the world, five are tech firms, whose worth is embodied less in physical assets than in intellectual property and customer data. Apple and Microsoft provide the tools to connect people, and to collect and process data. Google, Facebook and Amazon provide services, and in return accumulate more data [...]
Everything Under Heaven: Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road could cement China as the world’s superpower October 19, 2017 “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent,” wrote Mao Zedong in his little red book. With every crisis comes opportunity, he thought. The motto is as apt today as it was half a century ago. As an increasingly isolated America crawls from the world stage, the EU grapples with internal conflicts. [...]
The West End wins big property deals as London office space take-up soars October 16, 2017 Take-up of office space in central London surpassed a 10-year average in the third quarter this year. Central London take-up was 3.4m sq ft, marking a quarterly increase of three per cent, and beating a 10-year average of 3.1m sq ft, according to the latest figures from global real estate advisor CBRE. The largest deal [...]
Energy price cap: Government’s temporary cap on energy prices to run until 2020 October 12, 2017 The government will today publish draft legislation to cap energy prices until at least 2020 in an effort to reduce bills for millions of households. Under the bill, energy regulator Ofgem will be required to consult and impose an absolute price cap on standard variable tariffs (SVTs), which are default tariffs that can cost hundreds [...]
A life off-grid with no energy bills is closer than you think. Here’s what the future has in store for sustainable homes September 26, 2017 "Right," says eco-developer Sam Budhdeo, rubbing his hands together. “We think we have the solution to climate change.” As openers go, it’s a bold one, but not quite as outlandish as it sounds. The housebuilder who successfully cracks the code to building sustainably – and affordably – would be solving a large part of the [...]
The AA share price falls despite the firm appointing Simon Breakwell as chief executive after departure of chairman Bob Mackenzie | City A.M. September 26, 2017 Shares in the AA dropped over eight per cent this morning, despite the firm announcing the appointment of a new permanent chief executive after the tense departure of executive chairman Bob Mackenzie in August. Shares dropped more than eight per cent at the time of writing to 153.80p, as the firm also said today that [...]
Lost for words: The indie bookshop has weathered many storms, from the rise of Amazon to rising rents. But its future has never looked so perilous September 7, 2017 Prospero’s Books stood on Crouch End Broadway for 10 years. I remember it, though not well. The bookshops of my childhood memories are all vaguely similar – they were places where I’d be both happy and bored. To hear locals tell it, there wasn’t any sign that Prospero’s was in trouble. It seemed to plod [...]
Solar, bitcoin, tech, Tesla and tea: seven important investment charts from August September 5, 2017 Each month, writers at Schroders pull together the most intriguing charts of the month. Solar production eclipsed (briefly) The US came to a standstill on 21 August as people looked skyward to witness a remarkable solar eclipse. But as the moon blocked the sun it also temporarily blocked solar energy production. California aims to generate [...]