Would the chancellor just damage the incentive to save if he tinkers with pension tax relief at the Autumn Statement? October 12, 2016 Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London and former pensions minister, says Yes. Some things in life are about more than the short term, and pensions planning is surely one of those things. But how can individuals, employers and the pensions industry plan for the future when the rules are changed on an almost annual [...]
Will Samsung’s image burn and crash after Galaxy fires? October 12, 2016 Yesterday, Samsung permanently halted production of its Galaxy Note 7 model after the devices were reported to be catching on fire due to a battery fault. It comes just a month after the manufacturer undertook a recall of the product following similar incidents. But how serious a crisis is this for the South Korean tech giant? [...]
Pound’s crash reflects poorly on Downing Street October 12, 2016 Former Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King spoke out on Monday regarding the previous week’s so-called flash crash in the value of the pound. “The whole thing has generated reactions which are over the top,” King said. Just 24 hours later and sterling was, last night, printing figures below $1.21 as foreign exchange traders in [...]
Gender pay gap reporting will be the catalyst for a better informed debate on equality in the workplace October 11, 2016 Beware the “shrill equal pay brigade” warned a Conservative MP in Parliament last month. While his sexist rhetoric displayed a staggering disdain for those championing fairer workplaces, he also managed to miss the point. Equal pay is only part of the picture – we need a better informed debate about gender equality in the workplace. [...]
No wonder free trade is under threat: We are only just remembering its downsides October 11, 2016 It had been an article of faith among economists and policy-makers that free trade is a Good Thing. Trade liberalisation was a key feature of the world economic order enforced by the United States after the Second World War. For decades, the trend of removing trade barriers led to world trade growing around twice as rapidly as [...]
Time to take a hint: A weak currency means a weak country October 11, 2016 As the global elite (the “dirty” word du jour) descended on Washington on Friday, working the corridors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, there was one thing they couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t weak growth, it wasn’t negative rates. It wasn’t even Donald Trump. It was Brexit and the pound’s dramatic flash crash. In [...]
Have the Galaxy Note 7 fires destroyed Samsung’s chances of competing with Apple? October 11, 2016 Michael Jacobides, associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School, says Yes. The Galaxy Note fires have been a serious blow for Samsung, not least because this is the second time that the company has had to recall this product. As we trust mobile devices to be not only the gateway to our communication, [...]
The UK needs tech talent quickly and it doesn’t matter where it comes from (for now) October 11, 2016 The UK digital industry is one of the most successful in Europe. It now employs 1.6m people and contributes 10 per cent of GDP – that's the highest proportion of any country in the world. Crucially, tech has benefited hugely from a range of smart government interventions. The Tech Nation Visa Scheme; tax credits for research [...]
Small businesses aren’t thinking global. Here’s how to change it October 11, 2016 From Theresa May promising to negotiate “maximum freedom” within the Single Market post-Brexit, to international trade secretary Liam Fox stating that the UK will “lead the charge” towards a world of open and fair business, international trade took centre stage at the Conservative party conference last week. This, of course, would have come as little [...]
Is £2bn enough to fix the housing market? October 11, 2016 Last week the government announced plans for a £2bn accelerated construction fund that will be used to guarantee housing schemes, including deals to purchase homes that do not sell. The guarantee, which will be achieved by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) directly selling any ‘government purchased homes’ on the market, to the private rented [...]