Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg tells rivals to close failing mines to help rally copper price October 5, 2015 The chief executive of ailing mining company Glencore said today rival companies should also be closing their loss-making mines to stop flooding the copper market. Ivan Glasenberg said: “If you're not making money I believe you should take production out and reduce supply. Don't create oversupply in the market for no reason.” Speaking at a [...]
Unicorn or donkey? Investors need to forget mythical valuations and look at intangible assets to spot a good startup December 7, 2015 Investors need to base their decisions on data rather than hope when looking at tech companies Unicorns are extremely rare, magical creatures. At least they were. Until a few years ago, when “unicorn” became shorthand for a handful of mainly US venture capital-backed companies with pre-IPO valuations of $1bn or more. Today, depending on how [...]
After last week’s Tube Chat abomination, now a group of tourists wants to hug Britons because they’re “awkward” October 4, 2016 After last week's misjudged attempt by an American to persuade Tube commuters to speak to one another, now a group of tourists is physically invading Britons’ personal space with hugs. Shudder. A group of friends who travel around the world “saying yes to unique experiences” (their words, not ours), kicked off their time in London by welcoming [...]
Innovative Finance Isa: A guide to the new product and what it means for investors February 18, 2016 In less than two months, the Innovative Finance Isa will be launched, enabling savers to hold peer-to-peer (P2P) loans within the tax efficient wrapper. Hailed as the moment the P2P industry will chassé into the mainstream, research suggests it’ll also be popular with savers. According to research by P2P lending platform ThinCats, one in four [...]
Skiing in Val d’Isere: How to look good on the slopes next to former Olympian Alain Baxter December 14, 2015 Everyone wants to look good when they’re skiing. From Armani-clad oligarchs lounging on the mountain restaurant terraces to the teenagers with GoPro cameras and a selfie stick, the goal is to look like you know what you’re doing. One way to achieve this appearance is to don a lycra ski-racing suit and a numbered racing [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015 ticket prices plummet as disappointed England fans flood secondary ticketing website viagogo October 7, 2015 Tickets for Rugby World Cup games are plummeting in price on secondary ticket websites after England's disastrous campaign came to an abrupt end on Saturday. Depressed English rugby fans have flooded secondary ticketing website Viagogo with tickets to knock-out games that could have involved England, as well as the team's final fixture against Uruguay at [...]
My modest proposal to make petty regulation unenforceable October 14, 2015 The people of the United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union are all beset by armies of bureaucrats enforcing stupid, pointless rules. By “stupid, pointless rules,” I don’t mean regulations that prevent smokestacks from belching noxious smoke or ensure that coal mine tunnels are safe, but thousands of regulations that are petty in themselves [...]
Game of Drones: remote controlled, hovering robot minions are cheaper than ever November 10, 2015 Drones! They’re not just for extrajudicial killings any more. On the contrary, the latest flock of these floating, flying hoverbots has recently hit the affordable mainstream, allowing pretty much anybody to flood the sky with their own personal army of whirring plastic tyrants. To give them their proper – and slightly less terrifying – name, [...]
Golden touch: Global Group founder Johnny Hon talks Kung Fu Panda, the Northern Powerhouse, Glenn Close and human rights November 15, 2015 Did you sell sweets to all your classmates? I ask Johnny Hon, interjecting as he talks about his childhood. “Yes, I did actually,” he chuckles, before moving back to explaining how he never took money from his parents after the age of 18, and ended up selling second-hand cars to fund his education. “They taught [...]
As global markets selloff continues, here’s what seven analysts think of today’s market turmoil August 26, 2015 Market turmoil is widespread today, with gains being wiped off indices in Asia, European markets opening lower, and the FTSE 100 edging towards 6,000. What do analysts make of the developments? Here's a round-up: 1. "The news propped up a malaise in markets" – Bernard Yaros, Moody’s Analytics The release of the weakest Chinese manufacturing [...]