Low rates, record high stocks: is the bubble about to burst? October 26, 2017 The world is, seemingly, in a bull market in everything. Just take a few headlines from this month alone: US stocks, already at all-time highs, hit a sixth consecutive closing high, which is the first time that has happened for 20 years. In debt markets, Ireland issued a bond with a negative yield, which means [...]
The greater a market’s valuation, the smaller the likely future returns November 15, 2017 The growing willingness for investors to pay higher and higher prices for stocks is a real cause for concern. For instance, US index, the S&P 500, has only ever been more expensive on two previous occasions – just before the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 and in the build-up to the Great Crash of 1929 [...]
UK immigration falls as rising number of EU workers return home after Brexit August 24, 2017 Immigration figures have dropped by almost a third in the last year, as EU workers begin to pack up and leave following the Brexit vote. The ONS says around 246,000 net long-term international migrants were in the country in the year ending March 2017, down 81,000 on the previous 12 months. The reduction was through [...]
More than 70,000 City managers could be held personally responsible for misconduct under the SMCR, according to Cleveland & Co August 23, 2017 The number of senior managers in financial services firms who could be held personally responsible for misconduct has increased to 72,000, according to new research from law firm Cleveland & Co. This comes after City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it would broaden the scope of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) [...]
What the advertising industry should watch out for in 2018 January 3, 2018 We ask advertising bosses what’s in store for the year ahead. Alex Hesz, chief strategy officer, Adam&eveDDB In the era of fake news, advertising has emerged as an unlikely standard-bearer for scrutiny. We have long embraced the necessity of third-party regulation to verify what is fact and what is fantasy. Our job is to tell [...]
An analyst has worked out what happens to London house prices under three scary political scenarios July 4, 2017 Politics: it's been decidedly unpredictable in recent years. Not surprisingly, the resulting uncertainty has led to homeowners taking a moment to consider whether now is the best time to buy or sell. Now an analyst at UBS Wealth Management has confronted three of property owners' scariest political nightmares head-on, working out exactly what would happen [...]
Editor’s Notes: End of the road as Bell Pottinger shuts up shop, Jeremy Corbyn’s Venezuela shame and Old McDonnell had a strike September 8, 2017 For staff at Bell Pottinger the weekend probably can’t come soon enough. The disgraced PR firm’s fall from grace and into likely administration has been breathtakingly fast. For the 200 UK employees, the vast majority of whom had nothing to do with the scandal that sank the company, an uncertain few weeks await them. Some [...]
Uber challenger Via has been waiting months for a licence from Transport for London and is raring to launch September 25, 2017 A startup taking on Uber in London has spoken of “frustrating delays” in its efforts to get permission to operate in the capital after months of waiting and no sign yet of getting the green light. Via is the latest ride hailing startup to add its voice to concerns over the lack of engagement from [...]
The new voice of British banking: UK Finance launches today with new board members revealed July 3, 2017 The British finance industry will be publicly represented from today by a single new body, UK Finance, after the merger of six separate lobby groups. The new body, which officially starts operations today at Angel Court, behind the Bank of England, will represent over 300 British firms providing credit, banking, markets and payments services. The [...]
The Brexit divides could help realign our polarised politics August 1, 2017 Have you ever wondered why many Tories spent the past two elections implying that Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn hated Britain and would destroy its institutions? Or why progressives within the Labour party regularly accuse the Tories of “attacking” the poor, women and minorities? Or perhaps why classical liberals and libertarians got so animated about [...]