PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel talks quarter-life crises and how to tackle the state November 2, 2014 It's not every day that you get to speak to Silicon Valley royalty. And Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, first outside investor in Facebook, fund manager, and leader of multiple firms, is a dynasty heavyweight. Having just published his new book, Zero to One, he’s keen to talk about some of his latest ideas. [...]
Euro official warns powers to halt bubbles may be too weak June 23, 2014 POWERS to control banks and stop bubbles wrecking the economy may be too slow or too weak to work, top European Central Bank official Vitor Constancio warned yesterday. Regulators including the Bank of England and the ECB hope to use macroprudential policies to manage the economy, rather than relying on the interest rates alone. They hope [...]
Service industry looks to an improved Britain September 11, 2014 BUSINESS SERVICES of the year In uncertain times, companies that are willing to try something different – be that a new management team, an innovative business structure or a better use of technology – are those that tend to succeed. Our choices come from the transport sector, catering, white-collar recruitment, online professional networking and management [...]
Banks start to regain public’s confidence September 10, 2014 BANK OF THE YEAR This year may be remembered as the year the banking sector started to fight back against the regulators after years in the doldrums post the financial crisis. Profitability is up, lenders are at last overcoming tough new regulatory hurdles and a stable future could be just around the corner. And the [...]
USA races ahead to be world’s largest producer of oil and gas July 4, 2014 The USA now leads the world in the production of oil and gas overtaking both Saudi Arabia and Russia in the last six months, according to research from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML). US oil production has surged by 70 per cent since it bottomed out in 2008, while liquefied natural gas output has [...]
Bottom Line: There’s still plenty of time to build on this bull run July 7, 2014 CRITICS of the government’s Help-to-Buy programme, which is often accused of doping up already-too-high house prices, sometimes refer to it as “Help-to-Sell”. The scheme, which either backs up or even contributes to mortgages, is certainly helping housebuilders to sell a few more properties and thus bolster their earnings. Such fortunes are reflected clearly in the [...]
Acquisitions and a rise in diversity mark year September 8, 2014 ACCOUNTANCY FIRM of the year IT’S been a tough year for many accountancy firms – making it a very tough decision for our judges to make. However, it has also been a year of opportunity, as the achievements of our nominees prove. These companies have forged ahead, seeking new markets – especially in London’s growing [...]
Silicon Roundabout guru Tim Luke back to Barclays’ investment bank July 1, 2014 Top technology analyst Tim Luke is heading back to Barclays this month, the bank announced last night, after three years as an adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron. Luke has been re-hired by the bank as managing director and vice-president of technology, media and telecomms (TMT) in New York. He worked at Lehman Brothers and [...]
Ed Miliband’s conference speech: Here’s what you need to know September 23, 2014 Ed Miliband has delivered his last speech to a Labour conference before the 2015 general election. The Labour leader hopes his six-point plan will be enough to entice voters to give his party the keys to Downing Street and reverse his low personal ratings. The plan is intended to be implemented over 10 years. Here [...]
New homes deliver construction firms with 12 months of growth May 11, 2014 NEW HOUSING demand helped the construction sector record 12 months of consecutive growth for the first time in six years at the start of 2014, a survey suggests. Construction firms across the sector reported a rise in activity between January and March, adding to the previous three quarters of upbeat figures from building firms. Around [...]