Business

By Kerim Derhalli, CEO and Founder of invstr  Seven years after the onset of the financial crisis not much has changed structurally in the financial system. Regulators, central banks, politicians, shareholders and the public at large remain dissatisfied with the performance of the banks. Heavy fines and attempts to regulate compensation have done little to assuage the resentment felt against the sector. This is a cause for concern. Historically, the efficient recycling of savings into investment has been fundamental to economic growth....

He may have incurred the wrath of Lord Sugar on The Apprentice, but lawyer and entrepreneur Felipe Alviar-Baquero has lost none of his passion for inspiring the next generation By Felipe Alviar-Baquero My appearance on The Apprentice this year was quite an experience although I couldn’t really say it has changed my life. The impact of the show is a huge, with millions of viewers, so of course people recognise me in the street, which is really nice, and we have a chat. My main...

By Marina Schlotzhauer Gone are the good old days where the major risks for businesses were costs running out of control or the threat of imminent local competition. Globalization has introduced a whole new array of challenges that vary from foreign financial economic ripples to cyber security and beyond. Just in time production and the outsourcing of unskilled labour seems very good from a microeconomics level; However, when applied at a global scale, it increases the chances of sudden demand...

By Oliver Ward Apple´s announcement this week for a 1,300 acre solar farm strengthened Apple´s commitment to becoming a 100 per cent renewable energy company. Not only will it provide the power for Apples new campus and shelter them from the ever increasing costs of brown energy, but it represents the astute and progressive success Tim Cook has earned as the CEO of the worlds best known phone and tablet manufacturer. On this day in 1779 another world famous Cook...

By Steve Taggart  A revolutionary new technology platform, available online and as an app, is set to shake up the recruitment industry while also turning savvy consumers into a network of part-time recruiters. GigPlug has already amassed over 2000 consumers acting as part-time recruiters and a talent pool of 450,000 potential job-seekers. The platform uses a newly developed algorithm that matches your social contacts with a database of new jobs. Upon matching the professional experience of a contact with the...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic When I was a teenager my friends and I were masters of the man sandwich. It's a simple concept; rather than creating unnecessary washing up use complex carbohydrates as a tool to demolish a meal in a sandwich/ mop up/ top up attack that is a proverbial middle finger to table manners. Everything in a sandwich; jobs a good 'un. What we didn't realise is that we were participating in a very...

By Grace Regan, co–founder and editor–in–chief of Clippet It’s no secret by now that traditional media has got an age problem. Ask a room full of twenty–somethings where they get their news and you’d be lucky if more than one answered: ‘I go to the website every morning.’ It’s a safe bet that the vast majority of them would cite social media as their main source of information. I don’t need to speculate, the facts speak for themselves. A recent...

By David Morin I am often asked why I continue to busk when I have access to so many opportunities to play in venues and I understand why people are perplexed. Most people may think it's a low-brow form of entertainment, and in all honesty they are partially correct, but mostly I think, incorrect. I quit my job in 2010 to play music full-time. If it wasn’t for the cold hard streets, I wouldn’t have the fans, the amazing team,...

By Helen Taylor, Head of HR at Instant Asking for a raise may fall outside your usual comfort zone but if you don’t ask it’s likely you won’t get what you think you are worth. Here are some tips on getting the raise that you feel you deserve. How often should you expect a raise? Let’s face it, we live in tough economic times at the moment. In the past it used to be the norm to expect a raise...