Who made the FCA’s 2014 naughty list: Which institutions received the biggest fines last year? January 6, 2015 2014 was a busy year for the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which brought in a record £1,471,431,800 in fines – more than twice the previous record year. However, £1.1 billion of the FCA’s naughty list was made up by just five banks, and these record fines have sparked fears of conduct [...]
Will QE really revive the Eurozone? – CNBC Comment January 5, 2015 A new year is upon us, and that means investors will take a fresh look at European stocks. Unfortunately, Europe’s gloomy picture hasn’t changed: not enough growth, inflation is too low, and unemployment is still too high in parts of the Eurozone. Enter stage right: Mario Draghi. Arguably the most powerful European official, investors are [...]
New Year resolutions for trading success January 5, 2015 The new year has arrived with a bit of a bang for markets: a euro selloff, further slides in the oil price, and the rouble is still getting hammered. And for UK investors, the run-up to the General Election is bound to bring with it several waves of serious uncertainty. Between now and May, says [...]
2015 New Year resolutions: Getting enough sleep is key to business success January 5, 2015 If you’re going to make one resolution for 2015, this should be it. According to recent research from the University of Surrey, not getting enough sleep can have a far more serious impact on your health than you might imagine. Researchers discovered that, compared to those who enjoyed 7.5 hours of sleep per night, [...]
New job? What to look out for when signing a contract January 4, 2015 Have you been offered a new job? It’s worth negotiating the key terms. Do you have the back to work blues? For many, the Christmas and New Year break is an opportunity to reassess your position. It may be that you feel you are being undervalued and aren’t getting a fair deal at work. [...]
Banks need to stop shunning Bitcoin – CNBC Comment December 22, 2014 The UK government, led by chancellor George Osborne, wants London to become the world’s Bitcoin hub. Meanwhile, the Bank of England has released a study detailing the digital currency’s virtues. So why, under the surface, is there a “chilling effect”, threatening to derail a sector that could bring millions of pounds to the UK economy? [...]
General election 2015: The Tories and stock markets December 22, 2014 When market-watchers think ahead to 2015’s political risks, it’s a safe bet that minds will quickly turn to the Middle East, Russia, or certain parts of Latin America and Africa. There are good reasons for this: Vladimir Putin’s revanchism looks unlikely to halt soon, and a tumbling oil price threatens further instability in Nigeria, Iran, [...]
Managing across the generations: Leaders must adapt to the increasingly demographically diverse office December 22, 2014 Multigenerational offices are a reality for most of us: a study by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills found that the average workplace now spans four generations. But have our working styles changed to accommodate this? Should managers treat all staff the same? Or should they tailor their styles according to age group? [...]
Meditation obsession: This mindfulness craze is madness December 21, 2014 The new obsession with meditation is a sign of exactly how mindless our places of work have become. Imagine leaving the office on a cold winter evening. You are tired, stressed and all you want to do is stretch out on the couch, drink a large glass of wine and laugh at D-list celebrities [...]
One-minute guide to mindfulness December 21, 2014 LEGEND has it that the Buddha sat under a Bodhi tree in India for 49 days straight before achieving enlightenment. Some Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programmes today pledge to get you close after just a dozen or so sessions. In its current form, mindfulness owes its existence largely to Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn, who earned his [...]