Interview: City PM talks economics with Santander UK chief economist Barry Naisbitt May 4, 2015 GDP growth slowed to 0.3 per cent in the first quarter. Is the UK economy losing momentum? Growth at 0.3 per cent was a surprise relative to expectations, particularly expectations based on purchasing managers index surveys, retail sales and the like. We do know that GDP figures get revised, however. It seems to me that, [...]
General Election 2015: FinnCap CEO Sam Smith wants more help for growing companies and support for UK FinTech April 29, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 7 DAYS TO GO Every day until the final week of the election campaign, we ask a business leader to say what policies would entice them to vote for a particular party. SAM SMITH: CHIEF EXECUTIVE, FINNCAP Put in place further tax breaks for investing in growth companies. Reduced the corporate [...]
Standard Life assets rise in face of pensions and annuities reforms April 29, 2015 The figures Standard Life's assets under administration rose by five per cent to £311.9bn in the first quarter, as the savings and assets manager flexed its muscle in the face of new UK laws allowing savers to cash in their pension annuities. Third party net inflows of £3.7bn – 73 per cent of which came [...]
Britain can produce world-beaters – if business speaks up for capitalism April 28, 2015 The startup parliament. That may well be the history books’ verdict on the last five years of our economy. It has been a period in which the UK has flexed its commercial muscles to become one of the most successful enterprise destinations in the world. Of Europe’s 25m small firms, more than five million operate [...]
Intelligent design: Made.com co-founder Chloe Macintosh talks knitting and the importance of opportunities April 26, 2015 When Chloe Macintosh sat down with a friend of a friend, she didn’t expect to get a job out of it – or to go on to become the co-founder of e-commerce furniture company Made.com. But Brent Hoberman, co-founder of Lastminute.com and mydeco.com, isn’t any old coffee meet-up – and there’s nothing ordinary or unremarkable [...]
Investec Comment: Asset finance: Everything you need to know April 26, 2015 TOO many small businesses see their expansion plans quashed by a lack of finance. Their bank doesn’t have the confidence to lend them the money they need, so business owners end up trying to fund their companies’ growth on overdrafts and credit cards, storing up trouble for when the next downturn comes or not proceeding [...]
Don’t let the politicians mess up your pension April 23, 2015 It can often feel like politicians are only there to get in our way. The coming General Election brings with it a host of sizeable risks – whether the threat of damaging new interventions in markets, the prospect of months of confidence-sapping uncertainty over the stability of the next government, or the possibility that a [...]
At home and abroad: Global numbers that matter and key election pledges April 23, 2015 From interest rate cuts and capital flight, to plunging currencies and growth wobbles, we highlight the numbers that matter this month KEY ELECTION PLEDGES THE CONSERVATIVES WILL… Raise the level at which people start paying income tax to £12,500 a year, from £10,600, and introduce a law to ensure no one on the [...]
The London crowd: Will Meyer of Brother Cycles on what it’s like to crowdfund a business in the capital April 23, 2015 People can get quite passionate about their bikes,” says Will Meyer, co-founder with his brother James of Brother Cycles. “Many [Londoners] enjoy the fact that they’re riding something born in their home city”. Their company builds bespoke high-quality bikes and sells them via its website and through over 30 independent bike shops. Since launching in [...]
Phoenix from the flames: With US stocks at record highs, where can investors look next? April 23, 2015 From the darkest depths of the financial crisis six years ago, the world’s largest economy has rebounded strongly – and its equity markets have soared. US equities are now entering the seventh year of a bull market, with the seemingly unstoppable S&P 500 reaching a new record high virtually every month. The performance of [...]
