Hunting shares surge despite earnings slip Engineering group Hunting saw its shares jump almost 14 per cent to 331p by the close of trading in London this evening after it gave a “cautiously optimistic” lookahead for the year. The company, which makes equipment for the oil and fracking industry, credits its success with a strong balance sheet containing $40m (£31m) in [...]
Activist investors turn their backs on troubled retailers While activist investors are known for their interest in underperforming businesses, there is one sector in the UK so troubled that even opportunistic shareholders are now turning their backs: high street retailers. Such are the difficulties facing Britain’s bricks-and-mortar retail giants that many have become "too distressed to attract activist interest", according to a new [...]
Facebook and the tech giants are welcoming government regulation – that’s a panic signal for all of us Last year, I met someone who had previously worked for a big tech firm in its “free speech” unit. What had happened to make him come and slum it among us mortals in the (badly paid) policy world? Answer: the unit had been shut down. It’s in this context that you should see the milquetoast [...]
‘We want a ladder to climb down’; MPs who voted down May’s deal are getting nervous February 13, 2019 Politicians arriving for work in Parliament these days are confronted with a less than perfect view of the Palace of Westminster. The iconic Elizabeth Tower, home of Big Ben, is sheathed in scaffolding as renovation work is carried out. Workers scurry up and down ladders, being careful not to get themselves trapped in positions from [...]
Productivity lessons from the procrastinator Prime Minister December 17, 2018 Can we assume, given that you’re reading this section of the paper, that you are currently delaying doing something you really ought to be focusing on? I don’t mean to lecture you. I myself currently have an Oliver Spencer tab or two open on my browser. I spent most of last Wednesday Googling the viability [...]
Brexit may shake up the jobs market, so get your CV in shape now December 6, 2018 We are less than four months away from when the UK is officially meant to leave the EU, but there’s still confusion and much negotiation to be done before we find out exactly what impact Brexit will have on the City. Jobs are already crossing the Channel – JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds and more [...]
Could you be offered your next job by a robot? November 29, 2018 There has been much talk about machines taking jobs, yet research shows that most employers expect overall headcount to increase as a result of automation. Across multiple sectors, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping organisations to eliminate low-level, repetitive tasks, freeing up humans’ time to focus on delivering more strategic, premium services. The recruitment industry is [...]
Patisserie Valerie searching for new auditor November 27, 2018 Patisserie Holdings, the parent firm of embattled cafe company Patisserie Valerie, has begun hunting for a new auditor to replace its under-fire accountant Grant Thornton. The bakery chain is in talks to find a successor to Grant Thornton, according to Sky News, days after the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was probing the beancounter over [...]
Outdated research is driving markets towards a pedestrian investment environment September 18, 2018 The equity research industry has had to contend with a wave of changes over the past few years. The growth of passive investing, increased in-house research capabilities, and new fintech challengers have all placed significant strains on the business model of a traditional equity analyst. It was the implementation of the revised Markets in Financial [...]