Why you need to train your staff to be cyber safe City Talk One of the challenges facing businesses in the post-pandemic era is how to ensure remote workers can safely access the corporate network without creating a cybersecurity risk. Allowing employees to use personal devices or insecure home wi-fi connections to access sensitive company data creates potential weak spots for unscrupulous cyber criminals to target. In fact, [...]
The good, the bad, and the orange: In search of the perfect 2020 Christmas ad To call 2020 a “garbage fire” of a year would not be unfair. This year has turned people’s worlds upside-down in so many ways. But at least a few things remain a constant presence in life — one of which is the return of the blockbuster Christmas TV advert. While the advertising budgets look a [...]
No laughing matter: The impact of coronavirus on London’s standup comics Here's how Covid-19 has 'wiped out' the UK's standup comedy circuit. One of the benefits of living in a vibrant metropolitan city like London is seeing live entertainment. For many, the highlight of their week — before the coronavirus crisis — was enjoying standup comedians at pubs, open mic nights and comedy clubs across the capital. As well as being a source of entertainment, live comedy [...]
Silver linings: Positive investment trends for stock market optimists March 24, 2020 Stocks investors are likely to be feeling battered and bruised at the moment. The coronavirus-induced bear market has seen share prices fall sharply — even the UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index is down more than 30 per cent since the start of the year. Many industries are facing hurdles due to the government’s self-isolation guidelines, [...]
Boom or bust: The risk of a repeat of the dot-com bubble March 19, 2020 On 10 March 2000, the US Nasdaq stock market peaked at 5,048.62. By October 2002, the index had lost 78 per cent of its value, or about $5 trillion. The Nasdaq had swelled due to the proliferation of internet-related companies aiming to make money from this nascent technology. In fact, between 1995 and 2000, the [...]
Your road map to the Isa universe: Make the most of your tax-free allowance March 10, 2020 There are just 27 days to go before the tax year ends on 5 April. For savers and investors, that means there are only a few weeks left to make use of their Individual Savings Account (Isa) allowance. Introduced in 1999, Isas allow people to invest up to £20,000 into savings each tax year, and [...]
From Russia with kefir: How Biotiful Dairy sold a new drink to the British public March 2, 2020 How do you convince the British public to try a whole new food category, especially when it doesn’t sound very appealing at first glance? That was the challenge facing the Russian-born entrepreneur Natasha Bowes when she decided to try to start selling kefir in the UK. Kefir is a type of fermented milk drink made [...]
Fund supermarket best-buy lists — Are they bogus or a bargain? February 25, 2020 It should go without saying that choosing the right investment can be challenging. For time-strapped everyday investors, combing through the financial records of individual companies to find a share worth buying can seem like a monumental task. Instead, many people prefer to put their money into investment funds run by professional asset managers who do [...]
Follow the yellow brick road: the investment case for gold February 19, 2020 Investing can often feel like a rollercoaster, with the value of stock investments rising and falling sharply based on breaking news and geopolitical events. Certainly, the last few months may have felt bumpy. From the build-up to the UK General Election in December, to the tit-for-tat missile volleys between the US and Iran, to the outbreak [...]
Put your money where your morals are: ethical ideas for ESG investing February 12, 2020 Whether or not you agree with activists like Greta Thunberg or campaign groups like Extinction Rebellion, there’s been a clear societal shift in recent years to recognise the need to tackle problems like climate change or global poverty. One aspect of that shift is the increasing trend for savers to consider the environmental, social, and governance [...]
