The UK must digitally disrupt to grow the economy and create jobs, or be disrupted July 23, 2015 Not many things are guaranteed in life, but the power of technology to disrupt our lives is one that is. Whether we look at the creation of the first personal computer in the 60s, the arrival of the World Wide Web in the 80s, or the smartphone connected world we now occupy; digital technology has [...]
Generation Rent needs to stop obsessing about owning a home: renting is not a social curse July 22, 2015 Renting may be becoming the norm for large swathes of the UK’s population, certainly the under-40s, but a fundamental mindset change still needs to take place away from ingrained assumptions owning a home is preferable to renting it. For many the idea of lifelong renting is something to strive away from at all [...]
Bigger is better, property is still nine-tenths of the law and why the network effect creates billionaires: The seven secrets of spectacularly rich people July 22, 2015 In 1991 there were about 270 billionaires in the world. Today there are more than 1,800, and 290 were added to the rolls in the past year alone. In other words, more people became billionaires in the past year than the entire number of billionaires in 1991. A negative person might say that's further evidence [...]
With this estimate of Apple Watch sales, the tech giant shows every sign of maintaining momentum: Investors are wrong to punish Apple July 22, 2015 Despite posting strong third-quarter revenue growth (up 33 per cent to $49.6bn) and a slight gain in margin, Apple’s shares slipped seven per cent in after hours trading, wiping billions off its valuation and leading other tech stocks down. Investors were concerned, it seems, by lower than expected iPad and iPhone shipments and the possibility of [...]
Residential property investment is easier than ever thanks to the fintech sector July 22, 2015 For most of us, buying our own home is an important decision but how many of us truly consider residential property as an asset class for investment? UK residential property is a massive market valued at nearly £5 trillion however, the market is dominated by owner-occupiers, with just £1 trillion owned as an [...]
Red tape officers must allow banks to take risks: There’s no business without it July 21, 2015 It's clear there is still a major gap in understanding how growth can be maintained and stimulated by effective risk management, rather than restricted by focusing purely on compliance control as this recent report on soaring pay for so-called red tape officers shows. Some still blame excessive regulation for a stalling in financial firms’ [...]
The blockchain won’t just change banking – it could help you buy your house July 21, 2015 There’s been a lot of attention focused on Bitcoin in recent years but arguably the most intriguing aspect of this crypto currency is the technology that underpins it – the blockchain. The blockchain facilitates Bitcoin and works by sequentially ordering blocks of transactions into a chain which is distributed to and can be viewed [...]
The government’s welfare proposals including tax credit cuts and benefit caps is necessary, but more must be done July 20, 2015 The chancellor has spoken about what successive governments have known but not properly tackled: the level of welfare spending is not sustainable. Britain is responsible for seven per cent of the world’s welfare spending, despite generating only four per cent of the world’s income and being home to just one per cent of the world’s [...]
Train delay compensation: How the new rules will make it more confusing for commuters to claim back for disrupted rail journeys July 20, 2015 Yesterday changes were announced to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage – the rules governing rail travel in the UK. The idea was to make it easier for commuters to claw back refunds for delayed and cancelled trains. All train operators are now obliged to offer passengers cash compensation rather than rail vouchers.That must [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney would be wrong to hike interest rates this year, and the next move should be a cut July 20, 2015 At a time when central banks all around the world are stimulating their economies through monetary easing and/or quantitative easing, it's madness that the Bank of England is considering raising interest rates – and if anything the next move should probably be a cut to 0.25 per cent. The Bank of Canada cut rates last [...]