Tech is now everywhere – and fundamental to London’s growth June 20, 2016 The third London Technology Week will formally start today in Shoreditch with entrepreneurs, academics and government leaders coming together to celebrate technology – the city’s fastest growing industry. A lot has changed since the inaugural launch in 2014. London now has a global reputation for producing world-class tech companies, with more unicorns than any other [...]
EU referendum: Economic scare stories are getting dangerous June 20, 2016 With just days to go until the country votes, and after a pause following the tragic and appalling events of last week, referendum campaigning has resumed. The Remain camp has been gaining ground, but its lead is not comfortable enough for David Cameron to sleep easily. Warnings about the potential impact of Brexit on the economy [...]
The murder of Jo Cox was an attack on our society – but freedom and justice will prevail June 20, 2016 The chancellor of the Exchequer and the governor of the Bank of England joined leading City figures at the Mansion House last week for the annual Bankers’ Dinner. The mood was of course very different to previous years after the shocking and horrific death, earlier that day, of the MP Jo Cox. The chancellor, the [...]
How London can take on San Francisco to become the true global hub for the tech and digital sectors June 20, 2016 Today marks the start of London Technology Week, a fantastic opportunity for thousands of tech experts from all over the world to descend on the capital to learn and share new ideas, and to shine a light on this hugely important sector of our economy. London is an established global leader in business services and [...]
As the Bank of England launches an accelerator, will fintech transform central banking as much as other financial services? June 20, 2016 Nick Bouch, financial services data leader at PwC, says Yes. The rapidly changing tech landscape raises a challenge to central banks to keep pace with the sophistication of the economic activity they govern. With the rise of blockchain, cloud, mobile and robotics, economic activity is shifting at an ever increasing pace from physical to digital. [...]
The City’s secret Brexiteers are more numerous than you think June 17, 2016 Being a City Brexiteer might be assumed to be a lonely life. After all, aren’t we told repeatedly that “the City backs Remain” as though this were, like Newton’s laws, an immutable fact of physics? In fact, life isn’t lonely. Daily, people from the City sidle up to me much like Cold War dissidents. Carefully [...]
Cyclists need a new Thames bridge to Canary Wharf – and you can help fund it June 17, 2016 It's no secret that cycling is big, and getting bigger, in the City. But while progress is being made, London’s cycling infrastructure still needs to get on its bike and catch up with demand. And if it’s going to catch up, it’s going to need the City’s help. What we see on our commutes is backed up [...]
Europe fears Brexit because it would unleash forces that could prove impossible to control June 17, 2016 In Britain, we inevitably focus most on how our departure from the EU would affect the UK. What the other countries in the EU mainly worry about, however, is how it would affect Europe. They are standing back, nervous that any intervention could be open to misinterpretation and be counter-productive, but they watch our referendum [...]
From Orlando to Jo Cox, please don’t play politics with tragedy June 17, 2016 In the wake of the Orlando massacre last weekend – with 49 people killed and another 53 people injured – I would like to call on America’s political elite to be silent. Not because there is nothing to say; not because there are no truths to be found; and not because there are no action plans to [...]
With the Bank of England warning of a sharp fall in sterling, would leaving the EU be a buying opportunity? June 17, 2016 Jason Hollands, managing director of Tilney Bestinvest, says Yes. A Leave vote will likely lead to a knee-jerk reaction in the markets, led by a sharp slide in sterling. However, far from hitting the panic button, I would see an indiscriminate slide in UK equities on the back of a Leave vote as a potential buying [...]