Caviar for breakfast, lunch and dinner: On board the world’s only luxury icebreaker with Alain Ducasse
Trumping Brexit: Business optimism soars as manufacturing confidence hits 20-month high February 6, 2017 The shock Brexit vote and the outcome of the US presidential elections have failed to dent business optimism in the UK, according to a report by BDO. The accountants’ optimism index, which indicates how firms expect their order books to develop in the next six months, has risen to 103.7 from 102.2 in December. BDO's latest [...]
Economists following Bank of England’s lead raise UK growth forecasts February 5, 2017 City economists are raising their predictions for the UK economy’s growth in line with the Bank of England’s more positive outlook. In a survey conducted by Consensus Economics, the average forecast for 2017 growth rose to 1.4 per cent, The Sunday Times reported today. The positive outlook is up from a low of 0.6 per [...]
Replace 250,000 public sector jobs with robots, urges think tank Reform in radical workforce overhaul driven by technology February 5, 2017 Automating admin jobs could reduce the public sector workforce by more than a quarter of a million people saving the economy billions of pounds, a leading think tank has suggested. And adopting technology such as artificial intelligence, chatbots and drones, could radically overhaul the public sector and streamline Whitehall even further, according to a new report [...]
The 10 jobs where you’re most (and least) likely to be replaced by a robot February 5, 2017 It looks like you better get into some sort of medical related career if you want to avoid robots replacing you, but even Homer Simpson would likely be out of a job in future. Doctors, surgeons, audiologists, prosthetics makers and occupational therapists are among the more than 200 middle class jobs least likely to be lost to automation, according [...]
US non-farm payrolls show jobs booming to highest growth rate since July February 3, 2017 The number of jobs added to US non-farm payrolls in January soared to 227,000, but disappointing wage growth made investors bet against a near-term interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve. Unemployment rose slightly to 4.8 per cent, according to the US Bureau for Labor Statistics, while average earnings grew by only 0.1 per cent. Economists [...]
Fears of a Brexit hit disappear for UK services managers despite big costs increases slowing activity February 3, 2017 Business expectations of future growth in the UK’s dominant services sector have recovered to their pre-referendum levels, as Brexit fears dissolve despite the looming start of trade negotiations, according to a survey of managers. However, the pound dropped sharply as current activity slowed more than economists had predicted. The spot exchange rate fell to lows [...]
Eurozone job growth reaches nine-year high as economy maintains end-of-year momentum February 3, 2017 Job creation in the Eurozone has reached its highest point since February 2008, before the global financial crisis caused unemployment to soar, according to a survey of managers. France’s labour market created jobs at its fastest rate in a year and a half, according to IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for industry in the [...]
Trump election is “positive” for the UK, says Bank of England’s Ben Broadbent February 3, 2017 Donald Trump’s election as US President has had a “positive” effect on the UK’s economy, according to the Bank of England’s deputy governor. Ben Broadbent said the new US administration’s policies of higher spending on infrastructure as well as tax cuts and deregulation will help promote global growth, benefiting the UK. “It is a positive thing,” [...]
Taxation rates seen as unfairly slanted towards the self-employed and company managers by the Institute for Fiscal Studies February 3, 2017 DIFFERENCES in the way the tax system treats the self-employed, owner-managers and employees are “costly, inefficient and unfair” according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It found that the tax system is much less favourable to the 85 per cent in employment than it is the 15 per cent who work for themselves. The self-employed [...]
As the Bank of England hikes its growth forecasts, is it time for economists to admit they were wrong about Brexit? February 3, 2017 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. The Bank of England was far too pessimistic in August when it slashed 2017’s forecast growth rate to 0.8 per cent and its accompanying monetary package was premature, to say the least. Unsurprisingly, therefore, it has since upgraded this year’s growth prospects twice: to [...]