STEM skills are needed, but don’t neglect the value of arts degrees to technology companies | City A.M. July 18, 2018 Amid concerns of skills shortages in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the UK government is doubling down its focus on STEM curriculum in schools and higher education, going as far as excluding arts and creative subjects from the English Baccalaureate. This is a mistake for our future workforce, because it denies students the opportunity [...]
‘The food sucks and the sex is worse’: Barclays fraud trial execs joked about prison January 24, 2019 Ex-Barclays bosses on trial for fraud joked about going to jail while organising a crucial capital raising drive at the height of the financial crisis, with wealth manager Tom Kalaris saying “the food sucks and the sex is worse”. Another executive, Richard Boath, expressed fears the bank would be “basically dead” if it were unable to secure [...]
Boux Avenue, Ryanair, J.P. Morgan and Macquarie are among the companies with the widest gender pay gaps April 5, 2018 The deadline for UK companies with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap data closed yesterday, with 10,035 companies having published their reports by the deadline. The government announced in January last year that from this April all employers with more than 250 staff would have to publish annual figures relating to [...]
Our productivity problem is one of the biggest threats to the UK’s future | City A.M. July 19, 2018 If the summer of 2018 was remembered by one adjective, surely “hot” is a top contender. Be it the weather, sporting contests, or the latest twists and turns in Westminster, it’s certainly brought some heated discussions and blood-boiling moments. And talking of turning up the temperature, it’s nearly 55 years since former Prime Minister Harold [...]
Why the younger generation can’t afford to buy their own homes in London March 16, 2018 In my 35 years as a property lawyer, I have seen a sea-change in the balance between ownership and renting. When I first cut my legal teeth, the Rent Act 1977 provided security for tenants and controlled rents below true market rate. As a result, there was little incentive for a prospective landlord to add [...]
Dealmakers, investment bankers and lawyers expect to see M&A continuing to rise this year, as global activity starts 2018 with a bang March 14, 2018 Most investment bankers and lawyers expect to see mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity capital markets continue to boom in 2018. A huge 77 per cent of respondents to a Thomson Reuters survey said they expected to see M&A activity increase over this year, while 21 per cent predicted it would escalate by more than [...]
Protect your online reputation with The Marque July 5, 2018 WHEN someone searches your name on the internet, what is the first thing that comes up? Your LinkedIn profile? Maybe your Twitter or Instagram. Increasingly in the modern world, your digital profile forms the first impression you make to others. In my case, the top entry is the parliament web page for a Scottish Conservative [...]
Goldman Sachs boss Blankfein on Brexit: ‘I would have thought there would have been a worse outcome by now’ April 12, 2018 Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said that he is surprised that Brexit has not had a more negative effect on the UK economy. In an interview with Politico in Brussels today, Blankfein said that he was surprised at how little effect Brexit has had at this stage. “I am wrong because I would have [...]
Profile protection and The Marque: How to preserve your digital reputation July 5, 2018 When someone searches your name on the internet, what is the first thing that comes up? Your LinkedIn profile? Maybe your Twitter or Instagram. Increasingly in the modern world, your digital profile forms the first impression you make to others. In my case, the top entry is the parliament web page for a Scottish Conservative [...]
Former UBS trader says bank ordered him to discuss Libor rate as he contests FCA ban January 2, 2018 A former UBS trader barred from financial markets for his part in the Libor fixing scandal has today started an appeal against the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ban, saying the Swiss investment bank bears the responsibility. Arif Hussein will argue the fixing of Libor (the London Interbank Offered Rate) by other colleagues was the responsibility [...]