What can the public sector teach firms about innovation? April 6, 2016 Effecting change can be difficult for all organisations, but particularly for established ones with an entrenched position. It’s exactly this struggle which makes it hard to react to a changing environment and to meet changing customer expectations. After all, standing still in any sector quickly turns into going backwards. So what can be done? I [...]
Brexit Britain could be new sweetheart after EU-US relations soured by Apple tax ruling August 30, 2016 Souring relations between the US and Europe in the wake of the EU competition watchdog ordering Apple to pay a record multi-billion pound tax bill could hand the UK a post-Brexit boost. Britain could be the big winner from the tax feud between Europe and the US after the EU competition commission ruled Apple should [...]
How the stockmarket returned 80% without moving December 2, 2016 Reinvesting dividends is one of the most powerful tools available to an investor to boost returns over time. If you had invested £100 on 30th December 1999 in the FTSE 100, the capital growth would have produced a notional return of £0.97 (by 31/10/16). But on a total return basis, reinvesting all dividends, the £100 [...]
Pensions lifetime allowance: Savings over £1m face a tax charge of up to 55 per cent, but if your employer is paying into a scheme for you, take the hit October 12, 2016 More than 90,000 UK savers have stopped putting money into their pension since 2012 for fear of incurring tax charges, it emerged this weekend, following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by former pensions minister Steve Webb, now director of policy at Royal London. The pensions lifetime allowance (LTA) limits the amount any individual can [...]
Rival exchange Bats Europe takes on the FTSE with launch of the “BUK100” June 13, 2016 STOCK exchange operator Bats Europe will make an audacious bid to take on the world-famous FTSE group of indices this morning, with the launch a new UK-focused benchmark index. At the forefront of 18 new indices will be the Bats UK 100, or "BUK100", an index of London-listed blue-chips. The rival company is a division [...]
National Grid’s share price drops as MPs call for the company to be split up June 17, 2016 MPs are calling for the government to split up the company that runs Britain's electricity system and create an American-style network with an independent system operator (ISO). National Grid's share price dropped by 1.27 per cent in morning trading. [stockChart code="NG." date="2016-06-17 11:48"] The report, from the cross-party Energy and Climate Change Committee, said: "The government [...]
How London can take on San Francisco to become the true global hub for the tech and digital sectors June 20, 2016 Today marks the start of London Technology Week, a fantastic opportunity for thousands of tech experts from all over the world to descend on the capital to learn and share new ideas, and to shine a light on this hugely important sector of our economy. London is an established global leader in business services and [...]
Danish utility and wind farm developer Dong Energy sets IPO price range May 26, 2016 Dong Energy, the Danish state-controlled utility, has set its indicative price range for its planned initial public offering (IPO). The firm's float price of 200 Danish crowns to 255 Danish crowns implies a market value of up to 106.5bn Danish crowns (£10.9bn). The flotation was previously expected to value the company around 80bn Danish crowns. Dong, which also develops [...]
Habito founder Daniel Hegarty talks fintech mortgages, bigamy and working above a kebab shop December 19, 2016 Many people have a career change. Before venturing into fintech, Daniel Hegarty, founder of digital mortgage broker Habito, was a professional musician, composing for TV and film and touring internationally. In 2007, he joined a few people trying to work out how to do loans on the internet in real time, in a pre-launch company [...]
New broadband entitlements “embarassing” to tech entrepreneurs says Lib Dem peer May 24, 2016 New plans to introduce a right to high-speed broadband service for citizens and businesses fall “embarrassingly” short, according to the Liberal Democrats. Last week's Queen's Speech saw the Government pledge to introduce a new Broadband Universal Service Obligation, giving citizens and businesses the legal right to a fast broadband connection of at least 10Mbps a [...]