Business

By Chris Brown @vivabrownie Chris argues why you should give the often maligned sport a chance this season If you switch the television on and catch the beginning of an opening NFL game, just stop what you’re doing and allow yourself to absorb the scene for a moment. Notice the colour, the fireworks, the cheerleaders, the smoke, the razzmatazz - this is big time spectacle sport, this is the NFL. Some people will watch the NFL and be unperturbed by...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor SMEs are the first businesses hit by a recession but also the first to see improvement after the hard times. The BBC today (2/9/14) ran a news piece on the growth of the SME sector and their findings are supported by Bibby Financial services research. They found the majority of small and medium sized enterprises in Greater London expect to invest in their businesses this quarter. The independent funder surveyed 1,000 businesses with a turnover of up...

British foreign direct investment (FDI) into Lithuania has doubled ahead of the country’s entry into the Eurozone, which is set to be completed in just over four months. According to the latest figures from Statistics Lithuania, the official agency responsible for compiling investment data, British FDI in Lithuania has gone from £95 million in 2010 to £175 million in 2013. This makes the UK the second-largest investor in the country with heavyweights such as Barclays, which established its Technology Centre...

By Ikràn M.Omar @IkranM Despite Africa's long prophesied ascension as the next economic powerhouse there are still questions to be answered on whether this could ever materialise. The main question is whether it is a safe and solid investment. To invest in anything there needs to be a prospect of a strong return. You can never to be too cautious when entering any market let alone an emerging one. As Africa ascends she is showing exciting growth that is attracting many investors....

By Jamie Viggiano, Head of Marketing at TaskRabbit Britain continues to encourage entrepreneurship. So far this year, 350,000 companies have started up in the UK. This is not surprising. After all, making money and being your own boss is something that appeals to most of us. However, starting a company takes a lot of hard graft. Challenges inevitably arise – concerns around cash flow, staffing, workspace are common. Ultimately, the question is “Is it worth the risk?” That can dishearten...

By Tony Roy, President of CareerBuilder EMEA A career in culture may be a neighbourhood away While it might be enticing to work in the areas of culture, media or sport, these jobs are often difficult to find. Yet according to our new study, a more targeted approach might be needed. The study discovered that certain boroughs of London are experiencing more growth than others when it comes to culture, media and sports positions. Topping the list is Hounslow, which...

By David Dumeresque of executive search specialists, Tyzack Whilst the term “disruptive innovation” entered the business lexicon back in the 1980s, it is probably even more relevant than ever now as companies strive to develop disruptive strategies aimed at achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Having said that, we now have another neologism that has entered the business glossary; “dematurity”. Whereas “disruption” relates to any organisation, “dematurity” relates only to industries and organisations that are “well established” or “mature”. The cycle for...

If the great financial crisis taught us anything it is that there are very few industries that can be considered 'recession proof'. But in a global market, one that weathered the storms better than others is translation services. Reports show that the industry of translation and interpretation services has grown on average by 12 per cent each year since 2008 and with the increase of cross-border trade and business, a recent study projected a large growth between 2010 and 2020,...

By Luke Lang, co-founder Crowdcube For many British businesses, raising finance has become increasingly difficult in more austere times with banks, VCs and other financial institutions reigning in their lending. In fact, raising money is difficult at the best of times, which has led startups and growth businesses to seek alternatives. Crowdfunding is still a relatively new concept, which has seen its popularity grow since around 2011 when the likes of Crowdfunder and Kickstarter first appeared in the headlines. In...