Manufacturing PMI offers ‘crumb of positive news’ amid lacklustre conditions and Brexit uncertainty December 3, 2018 The UK manufacturing sector offered “a crumb of positive news” this morning as it announced the rate of improvement for business conditions improved slightly in November, but remained relatively subdued as the inflow of new export orders fell further. This month’s IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to rose to a two-month high of [...]
How to build a creative culture at your business December 3, 2018 Why is it that certain places produce explosions of creativity at moments in time? Nearly 20 years ago, London’s East End was the birthplace for grime music, with Wiley and Dizzee Rascal setting the pace for a cultural movement now led by artists like Stormzy. Pop art, punk, disco and hip-hop all exploded out of [...]
Big bills for passengers who leave phones on during flights December 3, 2018 Passengers who forget to heed the flight attendant's advice to turn off their phones could face huge bills when they get back from holiday, Aer Lingus has warned. The Irish carrier said that phones which are left on, without being switched to flight mode, could connect to the plane’s roaming network which is not included [...]
Trade is a long game, so we must look beyond FTAs and make marginal gains December 3, 2018 New York and London frequently vie for the crown when it comes to the title of the world’s leading financial centre. But as well as competing, we share a special relationship. The Big Apple was the first stop on my visit last week to the United States, which came at an opportune moment as the [...]
DEBATE: Do Jerome Powell’s recent comments suggest that Trump is influencing the Fed’s policy? December 3, 2018 Do Jerome Powell’s recent comments suggest that Trump is influencing the Fed’s policy? YES, says Andy Scott, an associate director at JCRA. Since Powell assumed the role from Janet Yellen in February, the US labour market has continued to strengthen, and the economy has grown at the fastest pace in four years. As a result, Powell’s [...]
GDPR is now six months old. So where are all the blockbuster fines for data breaches? December 3, 2018 It has been six months since the European Union’s sparkly new privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), finally came into effect. There was a flurry of activity in the run-up on 25 May as people received dozens (if not hundreds) of emails from businesses asking for consent to retain their data. But since [...]
Has masculine culture changed? The answer lies in our height December 3, 2018 Have you been watching Dynasties on BBC? The first episode followed the plight of David, an alpha male chimpanzee, as he tried to maintain power within his tribe. After one attempted coup, David sustained severe injuries, the likes of which might have killed a human. However, through extreme posturing and canvassing of support from other [...]
Heed Hammond’s warning: We must not be prisoners of change December 3, 2018 Britain has become a single issue nation. So all-consuming have the ins and outs of Brexit become that the national debate seems incapable of concentrating on anything else. Which was why it was so surprising when Philip Hammond spoke to a small business audience last week and didn’t drop the B-word once. In so doing, [...]
Unilever invests in India with €3.3bn deal for Horlicks December 3, 2018 Unilever has agreed to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s nutritions arm, including Horlicks, a week after press reports the two were in exclusive talks. The €3.3bn (2.9bn) deal will give the British-Dutch consumer goods company a substantial presence on the growing Indian market. It will buy GSK’s health food drinks portfolio in India, Bangladesh and 20 other mainly [...]
McColl’s shares plunge on profit warning December 3, 2018 Convenience store chain McColl’s today cut its profit forecast for the year, sending its shares tumbling more than 20 per cent. McColl’s cut its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the 2018 financial year to £35m, down from a previous estimate of £44m. The business blamed the profit cut on disruption [...]