Apprentices to get 20 per cent pay rise but George Osborne misses minimum wage goal March 16, 2015 Apprentices will get a 20 per cent pay rise this October, after business secretary Vince Cable won his battle to overrule the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendation of a 2.6 per cent rise in the minimum wage. By contrast, chancellor George Osborne has failed to meet his aspiration to hike the headline minimum wage to [...]
Dax hits record as it strides past 12,000 barrier March 16, 2015 German stock market benchmark – the Dax – hit a record high yesterday in a strong day for Eurozone markets. The index of 30 major German companies closed at 12,167.72 – a 2.24 per cent gain. The European Central Bank (ECB) had purchased €9.571bn (£6.841bn) of debt in the first three days of its public [...]
City skills shortage: Almost two vacancies for each jobseeker March 16, 2015 Finance firms’ growth is being held back by a lack of workers, recruiter Robert Walters warned today. It has 10,560 vacancies on its books, but just 6,090 jobseekers to fill it. The burgeoning economic recovery has encouraged workers to look at moving jobs – Robert Walters has seen a 48 per cent rise in potential movers [...]
Global house prices suffer first quarterly decline in two years March 16, 2015 Global house prices have suffered their first quarterly decline in more than two years, figures out yesterday show, as tensions between Greece and the Eurozone and weaker growth prospects in China weighed on consumer sentiment. Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index, which is weighted according to each country’s GDP, fell by 0.6 per cent in [...]
China is hot on the heels of US and Russia in arms export league March 16, 2015 China has become the world’s third largest exporter of arms after the US and Russia, according to a new report, accounting for five per cent of the overall total. China overtook Germany, France and the UK in exporting weapons between 2010 and 2014, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, [...]
Retailers call on rates review to save the high street March 16, 2015 Retailers today called for a radical shake-up of the UK’s 400 year-old business rates system and for greater support of the ailing high street as the government launches its biggest review into the controversial tax “in a generation”. Business rates, which are charged on commercial properties including shops and warehouses, deliver around £25bn to the [...]
Bankers to face new fitness test under FCA rules March 16, 2015 Financial services firms will be forced to vet thousands of staff each year and make sure they are “fit and proper” to perform their roles under a new framework being finalised by City regulators. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will today publish the final proposals for a new regime [...]
Slowdown at top and bottom of market hits London house prices March 16, 2015 London property prices fell from February to March, figures released today show. New seller asking prices dropped by 0.4 per cent according to online property market Rightmove. It is the first time in three years that prices have retreated in March. High-end property values saw their asking prices trimmed by 2.6 per cent. Demand [...]
Soaring talent demand pushes up City salaries March 16, 2015 Competition for professional staff is pushing up London salaries. The number of professional job vacancies climbed 21 per cent year-on-year in February, according to figures released today by recruiters Morgan Mckinley. Surging demand for new employees is resulting in higher pay packages. Workers securing new positions were lured away by a 21 per cent pay [...]
General Election 2015: IOD slams Labour’s “obviously counterproductive” profit-sharing policy plans March 15, 2015 Potential Labour party plans to force companies to share profits with staff have been slammed by the Institute of Directors as “counterproductive” and a deterrent to investment. The policy to force firms with over 50 employees to set up profit-sharing schemes in the style of John Lewis is reportedly being considered by Ed Miliband in a bid [...]