Moving clearing from London to Europe is no piece of cake March 17, 2017 "Britain cannot have its cake and eat it over Brexit negotiations.” Comments such as this from the Prime Minister of Luxembourg at the height of political tensions following the EU referendum have, perhaps unsurprisingly, become synonymous with the Brexit debate since 23 June. But with the triggering of Article 50 just around the corner, it [...]
Coconut flour, cactus water and charred food: Waitrose unveils 2016’s top food trends November 2, 2016 Were cactus water, wonky vegetables and coconut flour on the list for your latest weekly shop? No? Well, get with the times, apparently they were among the top food trends of the past year. So says Waitrose's 2016 Food and Drink Report, as consumers are becoming ever more focused on eating "lighter and fresher", while [...]
New flavours and quirky marketing help popcorn burst in popularity as sales rise 14 per cent to £120m September 26, 2016 Innovations in flavours and marketing, as well as snackers acquiring a taste for healthier treats, have pushed popcorn sales up 14 per cent in the last year. Total UK popcorn sales rose to more than £120m in the 52 weeks to 16 July, according to market intelligence group IRI. Both volume and value sales increased, [...]
Getting an Opec output cut won’t be a piece of cake September 26, 2016 With the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan rate decisions out of the way, focus could now shift elsewhere. Like towards the expected weaker US durable goods orders (which are, according to Credit Suisse, set to drop to -2.3 per cent in August compared to 4.4 per cent in July), or the oil [...]
Index Ventures has a new $550m VC investment fund and its eye on London tech startups February 3, 2016 Europe's biggest venture capital investor and the backer of star startups such as Just Eat, Asos and Transferwise has raised millions of pounds in new funds to invest in tech startups across Europe, the US and Israel. Index Ventures has raised a new $550m (£377m) fund from its existing long-standing investor base which includes endowments, pensions and insurance funds, among [...]
Strutt & Parker Research names six real estate trends making their way to the UK from across the pond November 21, 2016 The Coffice If don’t fancy signing an office lease but dread the local coffee house guilt, then perhaps a coffice visit is in your future? Using an app on your phone, reserve dedicated workspace at the local coffee shop that has designated office space built-in. It is cheaper than a co-working space contract, but a [...]
High street footfall increased as consumers looked to do more than shop on Black Friday November 27, 2016 High street footfall had a shocking Black Friday comeback as British consumers looked for an "experience" with their shopping trip, new research suggests. Online sales fell well below expectations, increasing just 6.7 per cent and failing to meet both the forecast of 25 per cent and the 31 per cent rise in 2015. At the same time, high street footfall was [...]
UberEats drivers to protest against pay cuts after Deliveroo takes action on pay structure August 26, 2016 UberEats drivers are to protest today against cuts to their pay, just after staff at rival business Deliveroo took action over changes to their own pay structure. UberEats, Uber's fast food delivery service, was launched in a bid to challenge Deliveroo's newly established dominance of parts of the UK's takeaway market, with both firms offering to deliver food from restaurants that [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney renews calls to help businesses navigate Brexit November 30, 2016 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has today reiterated his views that businesses need a helping hand to get through Brexit. Speaking at a press conference to coincide with this morning's release of the Bank's stress test results and latest Financial Stability report, Carney said that businesses needed as smooth a transition as possible as [...]
Watch out for your phone: Cyber criminals won’t just be targeting your computer in 2017 November 29, 2016 Long gone are the days when people just had to be wary of their emails for suspicious attachments, as a report out today forecasts cyber criminals will be targeting smart devices and other futuristic tech much more in 2017. Among the predictions for next year from an Intel Security McAfee Labs report were an increase in attempts of dronejackings, [...]