As the Bank cuts interest rates and restarts bond purchases, will it succeed in stimulating the economy? August 4, 2016 Dean Turner, UK economist at UBS Wealth Management, says Yes. With the threat of a sharp slowdown looming, the pre-emptive strike by the Bank of England with a comprehensive package of easing measures, should ease the pain. The measures were more than the markets were anticipating, as was the signal that the Bank stands ready to [...]
Carney’s monetary policy to the rescue? Let’s be honest, probably not August 4, 2016 As was expected by most market watchers, the Bank of England has reacted to the poor PMI and the weakening economic outlook since the referendum by taking several decisive actions today. However, it is right to be sceptical about the success of these measures and question whether the Bank's actions will be suited to support [...]
Former chancellor George Osborne is responsible for turning the minimum wage into a political football August 4, 2016 Last summer, then-chancellor George Osborne unveiled his first post-coalition, true-blue Budget – and with it, a big jump in the minimum wage. This somewhat confusing re-brand saw the minimum wage become the “National Living Wage” (NLW), which Osborne decided would jump from £6.50 an hour to £7.20, and keep rising to £9 in time for the [...]
What can science fiction tell us about the future? August 3, 2016 A recent book on the future of warfare warned that Britain’s pristine new aircraft carriers will be vulnerable to swarms of small, semi-autonomous drones that could not be stopped by conventional protective weaponry. Another looked at whether mass online gaming might be used to recruit networks to attack military or commercial targets. A third raised the [...]
A Bank of England interest rate cut is almost inevitable: It’s a shame it’ll prove ineffective August 3, 2016 In all likelihood, today will see the most predictable yet most ineffective policy move from the Bank of England in its 19 years of monetary policy independence. We should be concerned, especially on the second point, because at a time when the economy is slowing, the limited ability of the Bank to lend a helping hand should [...]
As a bitcoin exchange loses $65m in a hack, will the crypto-currency ever be more than an alternative asset? August 3, 2016 Ed MacNair, chief executive and founder of CensorNet, says Yes. While this security breach is a set back, the incident does not necessarily sound the death knell for bitcoin that some are predicting. Any form of currency which exists in digital form – and for that we should read all currency – has a significant exposure [...]
What does your gender pay gap say about your business? August 3, 2016 Despite a tumultuous time in recent weeks dominated by the EU referendum, the gender pay gap is still very much on employers' minds. It's an issue that companies can't continue to ignore – and not just because of growing public scrutiny. Employees will increasingly look at published gender pay gap data to reveal a company's [...]
Why charities like RNLI must behave like a brand August 3, 2016 The RNLI recently re-launched its ‘Respect the Water’ campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the danger that our waters can present. Coastal fatalities reached a five-year-high in 2015, underlining the need for the RNLI’s message to be heard. The initiative has also been supplemented by a documentary programme broadcast by the BBC, which tracked the [...]
Brexit vote reminds us of existing concerns August 3, 2016 The full consequences of the UK's vote to leave the European Union are not yet known. Advocates of a painless Brexit can point to data that refutes the worst fears put about by a panicking Remain campaign. But those looking for evidence to demonstrate that those fears weren't baseless have plenty to go on, too. [...]
Brexit doom-mongers are wrong: London house prices aren’t going to crash August 2, 2016 On the morning of 24 June, as Britain woke up to the reality that as a nation we’d voted to leave the EU, it may have seemed like the world was turning on its head. The pound was crashing, stock markets see-sawed, and the political landscape of the UK was irrevocably changed. Just over a month [...]