The House of Lords lauds diversity with a new power list of the top 100 business leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds April 27, 2016 If there's one thing the City is in dire need of, it's diversity. That's why a Westminster peers have grouped together to bring us a power list of the top 100 business leaders from ethnic minority groups. The top 100 most influential BAME (black, asian and minority ethnic) people in business were lauded in the house of [...]
Women on boards: Could creating a Female Stock Exchange be a way to redress the balance? April 26, 2016 Frustrated by the FTSE 350’s “one step forward, two steps back” progress towards getting more women on boards, I’ve had an idea. Why not create a Female Stock Exchange dedicated to helping companies run by or for women to raise finance and grow? Let’s face it, thanks to uncertainty over Brexit, the City is already in flux, a [...]
Italy’s dying elite is dragging the Eurozone ever closer towards the abyss March 6, 2017 Venice – The great German novelist Thomas Mann once rightly described this bejewelled city as one of “flattering and suspect beauty, half fairy tale and half tourist trap”. The same can be said for the country of Italy as a whole, where things are rarely as they seem. For the problem with political soap operas [...]
New Kid on the Block December 17, 2015 Mark Zuckerberg this month crashed into the list of the most important people in the charity sphere with news of his new philanthropic venture that will result in his giving away 99 per cent of his Facebook fortune. The announcement – made in the form of a letter to his baby daughter – caused a [...]
Banking ethics body wins over sceptics April 1, 2015 THE NEW banking ethics group designed to improve behaviour in the City has won over some of its critics, and recruited a heavyweight advisory panel of top industry leaders. Investment banks had initially expressed reservations about joining the group, but today Citi, Morgan Stanley and HSBC all joined the Banking Standards Body’s board. Their enthusiasm [...]
Gender equality has become an election issue – but progress remains painfully slow April 20, 2015 Gender equality has been highlighted as an important electoral issue in the political manifestos. All of the main parties want to see better conditions at work for women and they welcomed progress on female representation on boards – vouching to do more, though shying away from embracing quotas. But what is holding women back when [...]
London mayor Boris Johnson wins over delegates at Conservative party conference 2015 as he slams Jeremy Corbyn and ramps up the pressure over Heathrow October 6, 2015 London mayor Boris Johnson won over delegates at the Conservative conference in Manchester today with a wide-ranging speech that fuelled speculation the MP for Uxbridge will challenge chancellor George Osborne to be the party's next leader. Johnson, who sits in the Prime Minister's political cabinet but is often unafraid to challenge the government's positions, used his speech to a packed [...]
Vince Cable puts pressure on companies over all-male boards October 8, 2014 Vince Cable is taking aim at some at a host of British companies that have no women on their boards. Cable is planning to write to the chairman of close to 30 FTSE 350 firms that have all male boards voicing his concern that they have failed to embrace diversity, Sky News reports. Companies that [...]
All-women shortlists for board appointments ruled unlawful July 23, 2014 IT IS illegal for companies to use women-only shortlists to fill boardroom positions, according to new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The report found that positive discrimination in order to appoint female candidates is unlawful under equality law, meaning businesses would no longer be able to draw up lists comprised solely of [...]
Autumn Statement 2015: George Osborne’s speech transcript in full including stamp duty, business rates and corporation tax announcements November 25, 2015 Mr Speaker, this Spending Review delivers on the commitment we made to the British people that we would put security first. To protect our economic security, by taking the difficult decisions to live within our means and bring down our debt. To protect our national security, by defending our country’s interests abroad and keeping our [...]