How to go about asking for that raise September 21, 2011 HEADHUNTER, ROBERT HALF EMPLOYEES are currently faced with a barrage of contradictory news and opinions about economic and business forecasts and the potential impact of these on their own career prospects. While some companies within the financial services sector may be maintaining a tight hold of their purse strings, others have seen some buoyant remuneration [...]
A man’s shoes are as crucial as his suit September 13, 2011 THERE’S an old saying that if you want to know if a man’s well-dressed, look down. It’s absolutely true: good shoes make an outfit and bad ones stand out terribly, and that’s especially true of the City. So what should you be looking for in a good pair of English lace-ups? First, if you’re going [...]
It’s time to abolish the 50p tax rate September 8, 2011 THERE are many reasons why the top 50p rate of tax should be axed. It sends a message that the UK doesn’t like successful people; it has made Britain less competitive in the race for talent and capital; and the job losses and reduced economic growth it will cause means that the overall revenue raised [...]
Eurozone needs to cut out the rot before it’s too late September 7, 2011 WHEREVER one looks, the signals are bad. The S&P 500 is down 14.5 per cent from its highest point of the year. The Vix, a measure of market turbulence, rose 9.4 per cent yesterday. Bank stocks tumbled everywhere. The Swiss franc went nuts when the authorities took the dramatic step to peg it to the [...]
Why more QE would be wrong for UK September 2, 2011 IT is not looking good for the global economy, with manufacturing output slowing or contracting in most countries, including Britain. There is growing talk that the Bank of England could launch a fresh round of quantitative easing as early next week. If so, that would be a mistake. The British economy faces many challenges but [...]
App for spotty teenagers wins start-up award August 31, 2011 BACK in July I wrote about the launch of StartUp Summer, a scheme to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among students, organised by YouGov with University College London and Imperial College and supported by Downing Street. It has been a fantastic six weeks, with the students making great progress in developing their ideas while learning from [...]
City backs Eurozone break up and voices disapproval of leaders August 30, 2011 EU leaders trying to dig Europe out of its debt crisis should be planning an orderly break up of the single currency, according to almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of City A.M’s Voice of the City panel, run in association with PoliticsHome.com. Thirty-eight per cent said they “strongly approve” of a Eurozone break-up, with a [...]
Understanding the headhunting game August 24, 2011 HEADHUNTER THE best CV I’ve ever received came from a well-respected FTSE non-executive director who managed to squeeze his already successful career onto a single page. I love to receive CVs, but paragraphs of superlatives and hyperbole are not very useful. Recruiters work to find candidates who fulfil their clients’ concrete requirements. We look for [...]
How to get the best deal exiting… August 21, 2011 PETER Jones cashed in on his Wireless Logic investment this week, pocketing a whopping £38m. This is the third telecoms business he has sold in the last year, totting up over £100m in the process. He’s after a “war chest” that will buy him a mega-retail brand to turn around. Just how does he do [...]
Bailouts are bad but didn’t cause riots August 16, 2011 THERE are lots of problems in our society, much hypocrisy and many bad practices. White collar crime in the City or the House of Commons should be pursued and punished; it is right to cast the spotlight on the misdeeds of those at the top of society as well as those at the bottom. But [...]