Companies warned over the risk of foreign exchange swings as volatility set to continue throughout 2016 March 1, 2016 International companies are being warned that swings in the value of the pound mean risk is building in the foreign exchange market as levels of uncertainty in 2016 are anticipated to be similar to last year. The pound has dropped considerably against both the dollar and the euro so far this year as worries around a [...]
Jobs saved at Powa as buyers swoop for PowaTag and PowaWeb businesses March 3, 2016 Jobs have been saved at UK fintech giant Powa, after its PowaTag and PowaWeb businesses were sold. The company, one of the UK's only $1bn tech "unicorns", filed for administration last month. But today administrators Deloitte said 69 jobs were saved after PowaTag was sold to a consortium led by Ben White, while the the PowaWeb business has [...]
Why the greatest potential of virtual reality lies in business – and why not acting now could mean getting left behind April 4, 2016 We're only a quarter of the way through the year, and it’s already clear that the rise of virtual reality (VR) is one of the most talked about trends of 2016. Research from Deloitte shows that, while the technology may still be in the early stages of its commercialisation and development, it has reached a pivotal [...]
One third of oil firms at risk of bankruptcy due to plummeting prices February 16, 2016 A third of oil producers are at risk of going bankrupt this year due to low commodity prices, according to a report by Deloitte. Around 175 companies may become insolvent as they collectively have more than $150bn in debt and are struggling to obtain financing, according to the study. "These companies have kicked the can down [...]
Premier League January spend hits highest level since 2011 as season spend tops £1bn February 2, 2016 Premier League clubs racked up the second-highest spend of any January transfer window this year, taking the season's total spend past £1bn for the first time. According to figures from Deloitte, Premier League teams spent roughly £175m in the winter window – contributing to a total bill of £1.045bn for the season. Read more: Every single [...]
Rise of the robots: How is the MBA responding? June 29, 2016 Do robots need MBAs? Since the application of robotics is largely confined to manufacturing and AI is still in its infancy, the answer now is obviously no. But in 30 years’ time? One LinkedIn author recently argued that business schools should be proactive and develop a “Robot MBA” for a future of intelligent non-human workers. Silliness [...]
Here’s how UK fintech’s rallying action in a post-Brexit no-man’s land July 10, 2016 London's fintech industry is rallying to action after the vote for Brexit in a bid to alleviate the fears of startups, along with their investors and supporters, over issues such as capital, market access and talent. The industry is already formulating a plan in the face of overwhelming uncertainty and a lack of clarification from political leaders on [...]
Retail administrations fall sharply in 2015 as Christmas claims less casualties January 28, 2016 Retail administrations fell by 19 per cent in 2015, new research shows, as the Christmas trading period claimed less victims than in previous years. The number of retailers collapsing into administration fell to 96 from 119 the previous year, according to accountancy firm Deloitte. Company administrations in all sectors in England fell by 12 per [...]
Why business should embrace this summer of sport July 1, 2016 With the average worker spending at least 90,000 hours – over one third of all their time awake – in the workplace, it should come as no surprise that the quality of the working environment can have a serious impact on employee happiness, wellbeing and loyalty. According to government guidelines, the creation of a positive [...]
Death of a unicorn: Inside one of the biggest startup failures of all time – and Powa Technologies boss Dan Wagner’s surprise statement April 18, 2016 Powa Technologies, once valued at more than $1bn making it one of Britain's rare breed of so-called unicorns, collapsed into tech myth earlier this year. In fact, it was one of the most well funded startups in the world to ever fail, according to tech data gurus at CB Insights, after raising multi-millions of pounds worth [...]