Category: Articles

Major power outages caused by extreme weather, along with the spread of distributed, renewable energy resources, have set the stage for regulatory reforms that are likely to enable both customer-owned microgrids and utility distribution microgrids (UDMs) to expand strongly in the next decade. According to Navigant Research, worldwide revenue from UDMs is expected to grow from $1.4 billion annually in 2014 to more than $3 billion in 2023.

Predictive modeling has notably increased in value across several areas of property & casualty (P&C) insurers’ business over the past six years, according to global professional services company Towers Watson’s annual Predictive Modeling Survey.

Experian, the global information services group, published the findings of its “Dawn of the Chief Data Officer (CDO)” survey, confirming that an increasing number of organisations are waking up to the strategic value of data.

The UK trade deficit widened in December 2014 to £2.9 billion, up from the £1.8 billion recorded in November. These figures released by the ONS today show that the trade deficit for 2014 as a whole was the largest since 2010, as any sign of a trade-led recovery remains elusive for now.

As we approach the 2015 UK General Election, issue no. 231 of the National Institute Economic Review is a Special Issue assessing “the Economic Record of the Coalition Government”.

Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield's catastrophe model development team, launches latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, which evaluates the impact of the natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during January 2015.

Commenting on the Public Accounts Committee's forthcoming report on the role of large accountancy firms in tax avoidance, Mark Littlewood, Director-General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

Carl Hasty, Director of SmartCurrencyBusiness.com, gives his advice for UK businesses.

Clifford Chance announced today the recruitment of partner Gianluca Bacchiocchi to its banking and finance practice in the Americas. One of the most respected legal advisers for project finance matters in Latin America, Bacchiocchi's arrival bolsters Clifford Chance's market-leading projects and infrastructure practice and enables the Firm to provide even greater support to clients in the region.

The British Bankers Association has submitted its response to the Bank of England and HMT consultation on the Fair and Effective Markets Review on behalf of the banking industry in the UK.

Vietnamese GDP rose from VND1.3 quadrillion (US$73.6 billion) in 2009 to VND1.9 quadrillion (US$92.3 billion) in 2013, at a review-period (2009-2013) compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8%, placing it as one of the fastest-growing economies in the South East Asian region.

Now Pensions give their advice for small businesses.

Britain's biggest union, Unite is urging MSPs to help end the scandal of umbrella companies in the construction industry by backing MSP Neil Findlay's motion in a debate in the Scottish parliament on Wednesday 4 February.

Skanska UK has in a joint venture with Balfour Beatty and MWH Treatment been awarded a contract as part of Thames Water’s eight20 alliance to deliver essential improvements to the company’s network over the next five years.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW saw the most significant spikes in traffic on Edmunds.com after their ads ran during Super Bowl XLIX, according to a real-time analysis by the car shopping website.

Oil & Gas UK's Business Sentiment Index reveals that in the fourth quarter of 2014 optimism in the oil and gas industry fell dramatically, dropping 16 points to -23 points on a -50/+50 scale.

Data released today by the Bank of England showed that consumer credit increased by £0.6 billion in December. This compares to £1.2 billion in November and a £1 billion average over the past six months.

Global growth consulting firm recognizes Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) with the 2014 EMEA Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award.

The 10 year gilt rate has fallen to a historic low of 1.4%, meaning that if you want to lend money to the UK government for 10 years, you can now get a return of 1.4% a year.

The Mayor of London has welcomed £58m of new Government funding that his team will use to help create thousands of new jobs. The money will be spent on developing schemes that will help the capital's employers generate new jobs and provide Londoners with the skills to fill them.

According to a new market research by MarketsandMarkets, the market for camera technologies is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.69% from 2014 to 2020, and reach $6,080.03 Million by 2020.

With less than 100 days to go until the General Election, the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, is warning that regulatory changes shouldn't form the cornerstone of labour market election promises. According to new research, the UK's flexible labour market is generally working well in comparison with our international peers, suggesting there isn't a strong case for the next Government to either de-regulate further or to strengthen employment rights.

The gap between Britain's best-and worst-performing cities has dramatically widened since 2004 to create a "two-tier economy of dynamism and decline", according to a recently published report.

Oil field Surfactants are amphiphiles that are used to lower surface tension between two liquids. These speciality oil field chemicals are used in oil extraction, transportation and refining processes due to their function of being used as emulsifiers, corrosion inhibitors, dispersants, lubricants and so on.

Following recent wave of $1bn valuations, the founder of the $2.7bn commerce specialist believes the global investment spotlight has fallen on the UK.

An ambitious roll-out of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology in Scotland would generate a large number of jobs and create a market worth £15-35bn by 2030, says the TUC and the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA).

Commentary by Carl Hasty, Director of SmartCurrencyBusiness.com.

Reviewers on G2 Crowd recently awarded DocuSign, Inc. (DocuSign®) among the highest satisfaction ratings citing they liked the company's user experience and product performance in both the Mid-Size Business and Enterprise categories. DocuSign helps businesses large and small eliminate the hassles, costs and lack of security in printing, faxing, scanning and overnighting documents for signature with an easier, faster, more convenient and secure all-digital way.

Economic sanctions, anti-bribery compliance, data privacy, anti-corruption compliance, and internal investigations are just of few of the hot topics to be addressed.

Market poised to reach $5,150.2 million by 2019 from $3,002.4 million in 2014, at a CAGR of 11.4 % from 2014 to 2019.

Centre for Economics and Business Research give their views on the latest developments in Greece.

The pledge, to support over 100,000 start-ups, was made as part of the Group's “Helping Britain Prosper Plan” and SME Charter to help businesses start up and grow.

David McCorquodale, UK Head of Retail at KPMG, comments on the latest retail sales figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS):

The World Economic Forum and the Government of Japan have agreed to hold a special meeting in Japan 2016.

MasterCard is inviting innovative startups from across Europe to apply for the next edition of Start Path Europe. The program focuses on providing startups with the support and expertise needed to overcome key challenges and grow their businesses.

After the ECB propose to inject at least €1.1 trillion into the eurozone economy, investment service Hargreaves Lansdown outline its implications.