Bash this: The UK’s highest-rated chief executive is a banker June 8, 2016 Is this the end of banker bashing? It turns out the UK's most beloved chief executive works in the finance sector – but his isn't one of the traditional lenders… A new ranking by job review site Glassdoor, which is compiled by looking at how employees rate their own bosses, put Craig Donaldson, the chief executive of [...]
Brexit and Donald Trump expected to hit already falling M&A activity levels June 30, 2016 Deal values fell significantly in the UK and, to a lesser extent, globally in the first half of 2016. And mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity is expected to fall further in the next six months, with Brexit and the prospect of Donald Trump causing uncertainty. Read more: What Brexit means for UK M&A: Experts expect further [...]
Why slashed interest rates could provide another M&A boost after Brexit August 5, 2016 UK deal activity could be boosted by the Bank of England’s interest rates cut, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experts have suggested. As well as cutting interest rates from 0.5 to 0.25 per cent on Thursday, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) also unleashed an extension of quantitative easing which could pump an extra £170bn of newly-printed [...]
The UK is testing a sharing economy kitemark in efforts to regulate July 7, 2016 Airbnb, Uber and other companies which are part of the so-called sharing economy may soon be able to get a seal of approval that signals they follow rules of good practice in efforts to regulate the industry. The scheme is the first of its kind to monitor the standards of the hundreds of companies which have sprung up in recent years – [...]
China and Britain’s financiers take a break from Brexit in Canary Wharf’s Dragon Boat Festival June 26, 2016 Investors from London to China have been busy this weekend following the economic aftermath of Brexit, but Chinese diplomats and business figures have taken Sunday off to do battle with City high-rollers in Canary Wharf's annual Dragon Boat Festival. Over 40 teams including staff from auditors EY and PwC, City law firm DKLM, the Chinese Embassy, the Hong Kong Society [...]
More than eight-in-ten local authorities will be in serious financial difficulty in the next three years, chief execs warn May 26, 2016 Local authorities are at risk of failing to deliver essential services in coming years, the government is being warned. PwC’s annual survey of local government leadership has shown that 81 per cent of local authority bosses believe that some will not deliver essential services within the next three years. Almost nine-in-ten – 86 per cent – of council [...]
The biggest acquisitions of British brands made by the Japanese July 18, 2016 Foreign firms have long been interested in breaking into the British market – and with sterling weak at the moment, the time is ripe for companies eager to make deals. With the confirmation of Japan’s SoftBank making a £24.3bn play for British tech firm Arm Holdings, we've decided to give you a brief breakdown of [...]
UK set for take off in “drones for business” industry worth billions May 9, 2016 The market for drones in business – from transporting goods to servicing ships and filming TV shows – could be worth $127.3bn (£88bn) and the UK is destined to play a major part in that, new research reveals. Infrastructure, agriculture and transport are the areas where drone technology will have the greatest application, in terms of both labour and services, [...]
Latest bit of red tape designed to prevent market abuse comes into force today July 3, 2016 Financial firms will find themselves having to do more to safeguard against wrongdoings from today, as the Market Abuse Regulations come into force. The regulations, which cover abuses such as insider dealing and market manipulation, extend and clarify the existing rules. For example, firms will be required to announce inside information as soon as possible and, where [...]
How to invest your bonus: If you’re not off to the McLaren dealership, topping up a pension makes good sense January 18, 2017 Industry experts have warned that bonus season in the Square Mile might not be so bumper this year. In December, research by Emolument.com indicated that just 40 per cent of bankers in mergers and acquisitions found their sweetener satisfactory. And this week, the market leader of PwC’s global financial services HR consulting practice has warned that [...]