Picking the right funds: Why it pays dividends to be on the ball December 2, 2014 However keen you are to diversify, be wary of overdoing it IT’S BEEN a tough year for some fund managers. Missed opportunities in tech shares and bad bets on financial stocks have seen 85 per cent of active large-cap stock funds lag their benchmark indices through to 25 November of this year. Lipper, which did [...]
Are you making the most of the boredom effect? December 2, 2014 Studies suggest that more yawning can help boost your creativity. It's never been harder to be bored. Through personal music devices, podcasts or brief forays into the non-work-related web, the modern office dweller has a near endless supply of diversions ready for moments of tedium. Even the meeting – that epitome of workplace monotony [...]
Japan’s perpetual QE machine: Could the exercise end in tears? December 1, 2014 Some analysts think inflation at any cost is the wrong aim THE WORLD’S third largest economy now has the same credit rating as Bermuda, Oman and the Czech Republic, after rating agency Moody’s downgraded Japan’s debt from “Aa3” to “A1” yesterday morning. The yen crashed against the dollar (dollar-yen topped ¥119 just after the announcement, [...]
My challenge to the chancellor: Be brave – CNBC December 1, 2014 LIONEL Richie’s “Nothing Left To Give” is a tune George Osborne might be humming as he racks his brains over what to unveil in his Autumn Statement tomorrow. Or maybe “If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time” by R Kelly will be stuck in his head, if he recalls the more favourable fiscal [...]
Why less leverage can mean more trading profits – DailyFX Tips & Picks December 1, 2014 TRADING financial markets is exciting for most people, particularly since most brokers offer high leverage and, with this leverage, even a small trader can generate a substantial gain. Yet this leverage can sometimes work to your disadvantage, leading to big losses very quickly. This is because markets are often random in the very short term. [...]
Christmas reading: Why not try a business book? From Amazon’s 14 principles to TED Talk secrets December 1, 2014 Although you might feel mildly frustrated if you’ve missed out on the four day-long Black Friday to Cyber Monday discount shopping extravaganza, that shouldn’t stop you from getting a good Christmas read sorted in advance. There are plenty of guides to the best books of 2014 – from novels to economic tomes – [...]
Priory clinic opens in the Square Mile: How to tackle stress in the City November 30, 2014 The opening of a Priory clinic in the Square Mile should be a call to action for employers. The Priory Group’s move to open a new wellbeing clinic in the City is a strong indication of an increasing problem. Recent ONS statistics show that the number of working days lost to “serious mental health” [...]
Should culture trump strategy? It’s no contest November 27, 2014 Forget Alton Towers away days – values do not change overnight. The baseball team, the club, the academy and the fortress – four categories of corporate culture outlined by Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld in 1988. Is your firm a group of well-rewarded star players, prone to moving on to better opportunities (the baseball team)? Or [...]
Could Sherlock Holmes really afford a two bedroom flat in Marylebone? We’ve done some London property sleuthing November 27, 2014 We think a few of these movie characters have been lying about their incomes if they can afford these flats Have you ever watched a film or a TV series and thought “How on earth do they live there?” We have. That’s why we’ve compiled this guide to homes that appear on screen, to [...]
Interior design is going digital: Suna Interior Design explains how to make CGIs stylish for buyers November 27, 2014 For many London house-buyers, “buying off-plan” – purchasing a home before it’s been built – is a necessary evil. You do it to get ahead of the inevitable hordes fighting to snap up the limited supply of new homes. It’s a process fraught with risks and uncertainties, especially considering you’re eventually obliged to live somewhere [...]