A recent study in US revealed the average lifespan of a business had fallen from 67 years in 1920 to 15 years currently. Yale University predict that we have not heard of yet three quarters of the firms that will comprise the S&P 500 in 2020. With corporate life expectancy getting ever shorter, to reach the age of 50, as Kiln celebrated this month, is … Continue reading On Kiln at Fifty
It has been an absolutely dreadful few days of course for the banks culminating in the resignation of Barclays CEO Bob Diamond and his subsequent appearance before the Treasury Select Committee following the LIBOR fixing scandal. Coming so soon after the colossal computer failure at RBS, that left thousands of customers stranded without access to their accounts, the already tarnished reputation of the UK banking … Continue reading On Banking and Insurance
Grabbing all the headlines for the wrong reasons, the Facebook IPO looks set to be a source of controversy and litigation for some time to come. Meanwhile, the company’s co-founder Eduardo Saverin who Mark Zuckerberg elbowed out of the social network has also made the news not for his billions but mainly for where he has chosen to live; Singapore. Viewed by Bloomberg as the unofficial … Continue reading On Singapore, Bird Flu, Pollution, Innovation and Competition
Whilst the Egyptians cast their vote this week in the country’s first free election, the insurance community gathered for the 29th GAIF conference in Morocco. That 1,800 international delegates showed up in Marrakesh, suggests the appeal of the Middle East and North Africa region is undiminished despite the upheaval of the Arab spring. However, a survey sponsored by the Qatari Financial Centre accurately captured the … Continue reading On the Arab Spring, Riots, JP Morgan, Space and Medical Devices
Wry smiles all round and well done to Lloyd’s chairman John Nelson for persuading the PM to address the market in the room; a public relations coup that evaded his highly connected predecessor during his tenure. In offering the government’s support to Lloyd’s Vision 2025, David Cameron acknowledged the importance of financial services and insurance especially to the UK economy and, via the substantial tax revenues generated, to … Continue reading On Lloyd’s, Cat Bonds, Yachts, Lightning and Cyborg Technology
By imposing strict environmental and safety guidelines, the EU announced plans to address the grim conditions in Bangladeshi breaking yards where young men earn a £1 a day and one of them dies each week. Unfortunately the measures apply only to European registered vessels. We also learnt recently that P&O, whose ships are registered in Bermuda, pay their mostly Indian and Filipino service staff a basic … Continue reading On Ship-breaking, Investors, Volcanoes, Fire-fighting and the Euro
Perhaps the prayers of church insurer Ecclesiastical have been answered now that the Association of British Insurers has formed a working group and the government looks set to introduce tougher measures to curb the metal theft endemic. The company has been hammered with 30,000 claims mostly as a result of disappearing lead roofs. The problem is widespread costing the economy £770m according to the police. … Continue reading On Metal Theft, Bankers, Burma, Scottish Independence and Robots
After the drama of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race, the other summer sporting curtain raiser, the Grand National was equally full of incident and controversy. The debate continues about the race’s safety, although interestingly the motivation seems to be the welfare of the horses rather than the jockeys. Incredibly Tony McCoy, who fell off Synchronised (twice) before the horse was later put down, has been … Continue reading On Horses, Street Parties, Amateur Microbiologists and Argentina
Roger Bickmore 