By Martina King Having spent the last two years immersed in the uses of predictive analytics and machine learning, I find myself questioning the future of mundane tasks completed by humans today. So naturally, on a recent flight, as the pilot calmly announced important information to his cabin, I sat wondering how long it will be before his reassuring voice will be replaced by the dulcet tones of a computer, albeit one that sounds just like him. The role of...

By Xavier Baeten , Professor of Reward and Sustainability at Vlerick Business School Every year, a research team at Vlerick Business School studies the remuneration reports of more than 500 listed firms spread over Europe. This approach is unique: an academic business school collecting and analysing international data on CEO remuneration levels, as well as CEO remuneration structure and the main factors driving CEO incentives. Out of these analyses, a number of interesting findings and challenges can be derived. In...

By Steve Taggart  With the opening of the V&A’s Alexander McQueen exhibition, London pays homage to a genius of rare vision and invention. lastminute.com joins the stylish celebration with a top 10 of avant-garde hotels in London – with their futuristic design, sleek style and trendy technology. All hotels can be booked on lastminute.comand prices start at £69 to sleep in rooms that are just as extravagant as priceless haute couture dresses. Qbic Hotel The Qbic Hotel, situated in trendy...

By Nathan Lee, Business Correspondent  London’s startup scene is set to reach record highs in 2015 as it spearheads the UK’s growing entrepreneurial community, says global office broker, Instant Offices. The UK has seen an all-time high of new startups in 2014, with London contributing the majority of new businesses to the mix. This according to national enterprise, Startup Britain. The tech industry in particular has skyrocketed, rising 40 per cent year-on-year. This has resulted in a seven year high...

 By Steve Taggart 35–44 year olds are the forgotten generation of the UK housing crisis, with 39 years and 7 months officially the worst age to try and move up the UK property ladder in 2015. This is according to figures released by QualitySolicitors in partnership with the University of York, showing that this generation is the most disenfranchised by current UK housing policy. The research, which polled 1,000 UK voters and analysed the housing policies of all five major...

By Bea Patel, Director of Shop for an Agent As a first time buyer, you’ll be excited about getting on the property ladder. But there are many factors to consider other than the type of house you want, and the area you want to live in. Your financial situation, budget and deposit amount are important factors you need to iron out before you can look for a mortgage. You’ll need to make sure you can afford to pay your mortgage,...

The test of successful branding hinges on three things; Is it meaningful, is it likeable and is it memorable? Or so Matt Symonds of Fortuna Admissions tells me. I honestly don’t know what makes a brand successful, but as I sit here on a train to King’s Cross from Leeds I can’t help but feel a little unsettled by the Virgin branding that litters the iconic InterCity 225’s that have worked the 393-mile long line skirting the spine of Britain since...

By Moya Maxwell, chair, Unique Venues of London​ There are encouraging signs that 2015 is set to be a buoyant year for private events and corporate hospitality, especially from a resurgent domestic market. A survey conducted amongst Unique Venues of London’s 81 member venues found that that 91 per cent of respondents had an optimistic business outlook for 2015 (up eight per cent on 2013’s results).  And many members recording that January was the busiest ever for new event enquiries....

By Steve Taggart A list of the Top 30 landmarks in the has been revealed with three British entries coming in the top five. France's Eiffel Tower took the top spot but Big Ben, Stonehenge and the Houses of Parliament took positions three, four and five respectively in a great showing from the British Isles. The poll of 2,000 adults also ranked European gems as being the most iconic in the world with the Colosseum in Rome, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and...