Cutting science spending is bad economics
A decade ago, the Human Genome Project published the reference sequence of our species’s genetic code at a cost estimated at $3bn. How things change: the UK Department of Health…
Private life isn’t off-limits for boards
I once rashly asked the chief executive of a large listed enterprise if he was overpaid. “I’ve taken no holiday and spent every weekend of the past 18 months trying…
‘Shareholder spring’ reaches small groups
The shareholder spring has reached small companies, with rising numbers of investors opposing their executive pay plans, according to KPMG, the financial services firm. This year, 20 per cent of…
Care home provider faces uphill struggle
The closure of primary care trusts has made it much harder to organise specialist care home facilities for people with serious neurological conditions such as brain injuries and dementia, according…
Aerospace groups collaborate for strength
How do you raise the profile of aerospace in a city that gave birth to such automotive legends as Rover, Jaguar and the Hillman Avenger? That was the challenge facing…
Investors bid for unpaid invoices
©Dreamstime Wealthy individuals have been spending millions of pounds to buy up companies’ unpaid invoices via online auction sites – in the latest example of investors taking a do-it-yourself approach…
Small financial groups lose banking facilities
Dozens of small financial groups, including providers of pre-paid cards and online payment services, are losing their banking facilities as high street lenders attempt to reduce the risk of money-laundering.…
Telford expands as London property booms
Demand for fashionable inner-city London property is so strong that Telford Homes is joining the government’s controversial Help to Buy scheme and acquiring more land to double the number of…
Dialight promises brighter second half
Shares in Dialight lost some of their lustre on Tuesday after the FTSE 250 maker of light-emitting diodes issued a profit warning on the back of contract delays to provide…
Deloitte to buy McColl Partners
Deloitte, the consultancy, said on Monday it was buying McColl Partners, a US boutique investment bank, to expand its role in advising middle-market companies. McColl was founded in 2001 by…
‘In’ crowd shuns UK’s nightclubs
The music has stopped for Britain’s nightclubs with the industry having almost halved in size over the past five years as young people steer clear of sticky dance floors and…
Trader’s Diary: Microgen catches the eye
I continue to reduce my exposure to the stock market and increase my cash balance. Several trends caution me that UK shares remain vulnerable to a further correction after their…
Hornby counts cost of Olympics failure
©Getty Hornby’s ill-fated attempt to sell millions of pounds of Olympic merchandise has dragged the toymaker into the red, after consumers shunned the group’s model London 2012 taxis and Olympic…
Queen’s seal boosts meek and mighty
Royal print: Austen Kopley of Barnard & Westwood In the back streets of London’s Clerkenwell, a small print shop is preparing for a show fit for a queen. Barnard &…
YPlan set to take its app to New York
A popular mobile phone app that enables spontaneous Londoners to buy last- minute tickets to some of the city’s hottest music concerts and theatre shows is planning to repeat its…