Don’t blame businesses for hiring foreign staff. Improve British skills October 6, 2016 Home secretary Amber Rudd provoked outrage this week for suggesting that companies should list the number of foreign workers they employ. For many in the business community, it hit a raw nerve at a sensitive time. EU nationals that call the UK home and have set up fast-growth businesses, or joined talented global teams, are already [...]
The dramatic fall in sterling is a cause for celebration – not depression October 6, 2016 Sterling is now trading at well under $1.30 to the pound, the lowest it has been for 31 years. Is this a cause for gloom or celebration? Most people seem to be depressed by what is happening, but they ought to be rejoicing. The UK’s exchange rate rose massively during the monetarist era in the [...]
Well, now we know what Mayism looks like October 5, 2016 Come back George Osborne, all is forgiven. Yes, he may have ramped up the fear factor ahead of the referendum and yes, he may have missed his own targets and tinkered too often with the tax code but after Theresa May's speech yesterday there will be plenty in business who look back with affection on [...]
May’s big concessions to the Left risk returning the UK to the corporatist mess of the 70s October 5, 2016 Theresa May is an accidental Prime Minister. She is in Downing Street because David Cameron broke his word to the electorate and ducked out, while her rivals totally misjudged the situation. But she is certainly making the most of her position to attempt to reengineer the Conservative brand. Yesterday’s conference speech set out the stall. A [...]
The IMF is wrong to be so gloomy: The British economy is strengthening not weakening post-Brexit October 5, 2016 I have two problems with the latest analysis of UK economic prospects in the IMF World Economic Outlook released this week. First, it is slightly dated and doesn’t take on board some important recent releases. The IMF is behind the curve. Second, the UK forecasts for next year appear to be based more on assumption [...]
Look to Twitter for why Britain’s economy proved Project Fear wrong October 5, 2016 The economic data on post-Brexit Britain is beginning to emerge. We discovered last month that employment in May to July grew by 174,000 compared to the previous three months. Last week, the Office for National Statistics published its estimate for the output of the service sector of the economy in July. This showed a 0.4 per [...]
Back Britain’s asset management industry during Brexit to build an economy that works for all October 5, 2016 The recent slew of positive signs about the state of our economy following the Brexit vote is welcome news. The fact that the OECD has raised its forecasts, that the ONS is pointing to good preliminary indicators and that groups such as Moody’s are saying the challenges are manageable are very good and very positive [...]
As Tesco shares jump after it reported another rise in sales, is the retailer out of the woods? October 5, 2016 Clive Black, head of research at Shore Capital, says Yes. If you go down to the woods today… well, you won’t find Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis. Two years on from a troubled and tortuous analyst meeting, with the business on its knees, the Tesco boss is reporting that the remedial measures introduced to guide the [...]
How to stop your business from getting a soggy bottom October 5, 2016 Great British Bake Off (GBBO) is unquestionably one of the most popular shows on television. It attracts 13m viewers and appeals to the whole family and has done this more successfully than anyone else for six years. In fact, I’d even go as far to wager that a considerable number of you reading this now might [...]
British Airways’ move of dropping free meals is eating into its brand image October 5, 2016 British Airways has been in the news for a number of reasons over the last couple of months and YouGov’s brand tracking data indicates that perception of the brand has been impacted as a result. Just last week, the airline announced it was to cut its free meals on short haul economy flights. Passengers will [...]