Three-quarters of top judges are privately educated, compared to seven per cent of the population overall, raising concerns over diversity and social mobility in the legal sector November 23, 2015 Three-quarters (74 per cent) of top judges, defined as those who sit on the High Court and the Court of Appeal, received a private education, compared to just seven per cent of the UK population overall. A report by the Sutton Trust and PRIME – an alliance of more than 80 UK law firms and [...]
European Stability Mechanism approves €2bn Greek bailout slice November 23, 2015 The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the Eurozone-run agency that manages the Eurozone's bailouts, has put the final touches on the deal that will grant €2bn (£1.4bn) to Greece. The €2bn is the second slice of an initial €16bn portion of Greece's bailout approved in August 2015 after months of brutal negotiations between the country and [...]
Markit PMI: US manufacturing is growing at its slowest pace for two years November 23, 2015 US manufacturers had a tough November, according to new survey figures. Markit’s purchasing managers’ index for the manufacturing sector dropped to a score of 52.6 from October’s 54.1. While the score is still above the 50 “no change” mark, it marks the slowest growth in US manufacturing for two years. Factories reported slower rates of [...]
Compliance salaries set to rocket in 2016, as misconduct fallout takes the spotlight November 23, 2015 Junior compliance associates could be raking it in next year, with salaries expected to rise 6.8 per cent in 2016, well above the average three per cent salary rise forecast across all professions. According to figures released today by Robert Half, junior compliance associates can expect the third biggest salary percentage increase of all the [...]
The Eurozone is growing at its fastest rate for four-and-a-half-years – Markit’s purchasing managers’ index November 23, 2015 The Eurozone economy is growing at its fastest rate for four-and-a-half-years, but is unlikely to be growing fast enough to deter policy makers from expanding the currency-bloc’s €1.1 trillion (£770bn) asset purchase programme, economists have said. Markit’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – compiled from a survey of businesses and released this morning – climbed [...]
How innovation can return UK manufacturing compete with China and return to the global stage November 23, 2015 Britain's manufacturing industry is suffering its worst decline in years, nevertheless this trend is far from terminal. There are many innovations being thought up in Britain that could help boost its performance internationally. Specifically, by encouraging collaboration amongst inventors and manufacturers in the UK, innovations can be developed on home soil, which would bring crucial [...]
UK house prices have reached an all-time high – but price growth is slowing in London November 23, 2015 UK house prices surged last month, taking the average cost of a home to an all-time high – but London is falling behind. The country's average rose by 1.9 per cent in October, taking the annual growth to 10.5 per cent. That means the national average cost of a house now stands at £224,242, according [...]
Switerland’s Alternative Bank Schweiz world’s first bank to apply negative interest rates to savers and charge them for deposits November 23, 2015 A small Swiss bank has caused a stir, after becoming the world's first financial institution to apply negative interest rates to individual clients. While a number central banks around the world have taken benchmark interest rates below the zero mark, individual savers had been shielded from this, meaning they weren't charged to keep cash in [...]
How low can oil prices go? Here’s what the industry thinks November 23, 2015 Venezuelan oil minister Eulogio del Pino yesterday warned that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) cannot allow an oil price war, and urged it to take action to stabilise the crude market soon. In response to the question of how low oil prices could go next year if Opec fails to take action, del Pino said "mid-20s". With the future direction of [...]
Eurozone economy: Mario Draghi is doing his utmost to make the public believe that QE has not failed – but the damage caused by this pampering of banks could be beyond repair November 23, 2015 In front of a professional audience, the President of the ECB Mario Draghi could not totally deny the facts. For the time being, the public sector purchase programme (PSPP) has neither led to sustained growth nor to the targeted inflation rate of two per cent. That is why he had to admit that the process [...]