Financial sector leads professional job creation – Apsco February 29, 2016 Landing a role in finance got easier in January as the number of vacancies soared 12 per cent on the same month last year. Stronger demand was reflected in pay growth. Average salaries in banking jobs have gone up 4.9 per cent, according to the data released by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco) [...]
Big data and the internet of things will add £322bn and 217,000 jobs to the economy by 2020 – CEBR February 29, 2016 Big data and the internet of things could add £322bn to the UK economy by 2020, new research from industry analysts and economists reveals today. The internet of things – the network of everyday items fitted with electronics to allow them to collect and exchange data – could lead to £72bn of efficiency gains and 67,000 new [...]
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King says the Eurozone is doomed to fail February 28, 2016 Mervyn King, the former governor of the Bank of England, has warned that the Eurozone is doomed to fail. Bailouts and other measures employed to keep the euro area intact "will lead to not only an economic but a political crisis", according to King's new book, The End of Alchemy, which is being serialised in [...]
Oil price nervous ahead of Opec mid-March meeting February 28, 2016 The oil price is set for another rocky week as tensions build ahead of a second round of historic talks to cap output levels. The Saudi Arabia led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has been negotiating a deal with non-Opec Russia to freeze oil production at January levels and will meet again in mid-March. [...]
Ahead of Budget 2016 on 16 March, the Resolution Foundation urges government to help more over 50s into work and rethink its old-fashioned approach to unemployment February 27, 2016 A think tank has offered a word of advice to chancellor George Osborne this morning ahead of the budget: if this government wants to achieve full employment, it must focus on helping over 50s get into work. Ahead of publishing a full report on employment next week, the Resolution Foundation urged government to put helping over 50s [...]
The amount we spent on contactless cards trebled to £7.8bn in 2015, with the payment method proving particularly popular with London commuters February 26, 2016 The way we're spending is changing, with the value of transactions on contactless cards soaring last year, according to research released today. The study by The UK Cards Association discovered that spending on contactless cards hit £7.8bn in 2015, up 233 per cent from £2.3bn in 2014. The number of transactions carried out contactlessly also rose to [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices rise as traders close short positions February 26, 2016 Oil prices reversed earlier losses to inch into positive territory this morning, however traders warned that the gains were largely due to "technical" movements. Brent crude, the global benchmark, increased 1.3 per cent to $35.74 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark swelled 1.33 per cent to $33.51. But traders said the [...]
House prices rise again, with the value of London residential properties shooting up by 14 per cent year-on-year, while sales inch down two per cent February 26, 2016 The price of residential property has edged up with the capital seeing the biggest increases in value over the last year, figures released today show. According to the Land Registry's monthly market trend data for January 2016, the average price of residential property in England and Wales rose by 7.1 per cent over a year and [...]
EU referendum: Brexit could cause turmoil for more than half of small businesses in London who are relying on a workforce that comes from across the EU February 26, 2016 A Brexit could be bad news for more than half of small businesses in London who are counting on migrant workers to keep them up and running, according to a specialist accounting firm. "We do the accounting for several hundred small businesses in London, with more than half of them relying on a workforce that includes [...]
London workers did nearly £9,000 of unpaid overtime last year – as the UK racks up £31.5bn of unpaid work February 26, 2016 We're all used to putting in those extra few hours a week – but how much would you make if you were actually paid for it? New research has calculated that the average London worker could have made an extra £8,669 last year… The research by the Trades Union Congress, found 5.1m UK workers collectively [...]