City Moves for 9 February 2016 | Who’s switching jobs February 9, 2016 Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has strengthened its technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) team in London with the appointment of Natalie O’Byrne as mid-markets relationship director. With six years’ experience in corporate banking, she joins the nine-strong TMT team having previously worked in a similar role for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking looking after clients [...]
At the close: S&P 500 recovers from early year losses on tech giants’ results while FTSE 100 touches two month high October 23, 2015 The People's Bank of China may have cut interest rates for the sixth time since November on Friday, but even without its actions the S&P 500 would have made gains after Google, Amazon and Microsoft's share prices soared. As the markets opened in the US, shares in the three companies went crazy, with Amazon's stock opening nine per cent [...]
Fraud with Problems: Ravelin boss Martin Sweeney talks Hailo, fake credit cards and machine learning May 23, 2016 "There’s a real tension at the heart of fraud detection: if you want to stop online fraud, just switch everything off.” Martin Sweeney is, of course, being facetious. But fraud, he impresses, has become an accepted fact of the on-demand economy. “We as consumers are accepting that most of the things we buy have a premium [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: After Asda pulled out of the big deals day, will it fade to grey? November 11, 2015 Asda’s decision to opt-out of the US-imported shopping holiday begs one question: Could this be Britain’s last Black Friday? With high-street retailers like Primark and Oasis also deciding to pull out of the Black Friday race, this is a huge sign that perhaps this one-day shopping bonanza could be abandoned by the majority of the [...]
People really do listen to Chris Rea when they’re driving home for Christmas – but Maria Carey is still festive top of the pops December 24, 2015 It turns out the nation's drivers are a pretty literal bunch when it comes to choosing their playlist for the car journey home. A survey by government body Highways England has found 20 per cent of people listen to Chris Rea's Driving Home for Christmas on the way home – more than The Pogues' Fairytale of New York, [...]
Brookfield Property Partners buys Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin January 4, 2016 Canary Wharf and Center Parcs owner Brookfield Property Partners has bought a chunk of central Berlin in partnership with an Asian sovereign wealth fund for an undisclosed sum. The Canadian and US listed property giant announced the pair have completed a deal to buy Postdamer Platz, a busy junction at the heart of the city [...]
So meta: Amazon just opened an online store on Alibaba March 6, 2015 Amazon and Alibaba may be a hair away to declaring themselves official arch-nemeses, but that hasn't prevented the US online retail giant from making the most of the opportunities presented by its rival. Amazon has opened a shop on Alibaba's Tmall, the Chinese tech giant's equivalent of, er, Amazon. What does it all mean? Amazon's [...]
Olympic controversy and Zika outbreaks have done nothing to dampen Rio de Janeiro’s party atmosphere June 1, 2016 In what is surely a daily occurrence in Brazil, a bunch of transfixed foreigners sat speechless ogling a local. “Wesley, she looks friendly, get out of the van and walk up to her,’’ suggested our Iguassu Falls host Juliana. “I have two daughters, I’m not going anywhere near her,’’ Wesley replied. Juliana, let me confirm, [...]
Neighbourhood drones, virtual reality tours and holograms: Here are five ways we will be buying property by 2025 March 8, 2016 Dashing across town to visit a property for sale after work? According to trend analysts, The Future Laboratory, the days of paying a physical visit will be long gone by 2025 and replaced by virtual reality devices such a holograms instead. The report, commissioned by online estate agent easyProperty, has predicted several ways that buying, selling and redecorating [...]
Cain Hoy partners with China’s largest property company Vanke for £750m Shoreditch project November 5, 2015 China's largest property company has made its first foray into the European market after partnering on the £750m redevelopment of a Shoreditch site where Shakespeare’s Curtain Theatre once stood. Vanke has taken a 21 per cent stake in The Stage, joining a consortium of investors headed by US private equity firm Cain Hoy and joint venture partners MG Partners, Galliard Homes and Investec Property Finance. The [...]