Why India’s political earthquake is the most significant turning point of 2014 May 19, 2014 GENOA – I find myself in this predictably beautiful Italian city, about to visit the house of Christopher Columbus. Like most American schoolchildren, I remember finding the fact that Columbus discovered the new world by mistake uproariously funny, as the “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” literally bumped into the Americas, sitting annoyingly in the way [...]
How to get a pay rise: Four tips on how to ask for more money at work May 18, 2014 If you work in finance, here’s some good news for you. According to a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development survey, finance professionals were the most likely to have received a pay rise last year (64 per cent did so), well above the private sector average of 54 per cent. Yet broaching the subject of [...]
Austerity is working – but we must continue to challenge its diehard critics | City A.M. May 15, 2014 THE “BACKFIRE effect” is a term coined by the US political scientist Brendan Nyhan to describe how a person’s deeply-held convictions may actually get stronger when presented with contradictory evidence. In one recent study, Nyhan and his colleagues presented a group with information confirming the safety of vaccines. Faced with the facts, those who already [...]
How to get a promotion at work May 15, 2014 It's a question everyone has: what's the best way to get a promotion at work. But as few firms spell out the criteria for advancement, it’s important to have a game plan. Such are Najat Vallaud-Belkacem’s – the French minister for women’s rights – concerns about the female battle for top jobs, that last [...]
Central bank report says Bitcoin could threaten the global financial system May 15, 2014 A report by the Bank of Canada (BoC) has warned that the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency Bitcoin could bring serious risks to the established financial system. Entitled Understanding Platform Based Digital Currencies, the authors wrote “there could be potential risks to overall financial stability if Bitcoin became a significant means of payment and the Bitcoin [...]
Why’s it called Dixons Carphone? Nobody’s used a car phone in years May 15, 2014 High street staples Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail have confirmed today that they’ll be merging to form a new company called Dixons Carphone. But why are they hanging on to the ‘Carphone’ bit when no-one has one anymore? The first car phone was used in St Louis on 17 June 1946. It has three channels [...]
Four tips for a better business trip May 14, 2014 Follow Nasa and Ronald Reagan’s tip to beat jet lag, and break out of the business bubble WE’VE all heard a business trip horror story. Whether it’s falling asleep in a crucial meeting due to jet lag, or realising you’ve forgotten to pack suit trousers minutes before a presentation, travelling abroad on business can be [...]
Online giants to be hit as Google loses EU data case May 14, 2014 US INTERNET giants could be hit by tight new rules on personal data, after Google lost a landmark case in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which ruled that EU citizens can demand any outdated data is removed from servers. The verdict is expected to throw up a host of technical challenges and extra costs [...]
Three-year delay hits Google’s London HQ May 14, 2014 WORK ON Google’s planned £650m headquarters at King’s Cross could be delayed for another three years, the boss of the contractor appointed to build the scheme warned yesterday. In its annual report released yesterday, BAM Construct chief executive Graham Cash said it was “disappointing” that the building has been pushed back to “at least 2017” [...]
How the global economy became more equal – thanks to capitalism May 13, 2014 METROPOLITAN liberals love to be able to criticise Western society. Recently, their lives have been brightened by the extensive discussion on the rise in inequality since the 1970s, especially in the Anglo-Saxon economies. There is a danger that this essentially anti-capitalist narrative will come to dominate the media, paving the way for increased regulation and [...]