Is Britain on the edge of recession? History is an unreliable guide to the future May 11, 2016 Concerns are growing about a marked slowdown in the UK economy. The Lloyds Bank purchasing managers’ index, for example, fell to 52.1 in April, its lowest point since 2013. The initial estimate for GDP, total output, in the first quarter of this year shows an increase of just 0.4 per cent on the final quarter [...]
This is Me: How Barclays is breaking mental health stigma – and the rest of the City can too May 11, 2016 Since 2013, Barclays has been working to raise awareness of mental health in the workplace through our campaign “This is Me”. As part of our ambition to be the most accessible and inclusive bank, it is important to Barclays that colleagues can be themselves at work. Addressing the cultural silence around mental health was fundamental [...]
As the founder of US industry giant Lending Club resigns under a cloud, is this the beginning of the end of P2P? May 11, 2016 Bill Blain, a strategist at Mint Partners, says Yes. Lending Club is a long expected smell-the-coffee moment for the sector. The firm sold loans to an investor that did not conform to its instructions, highlighting multiple regulatory risks. The sector is vulnerable to bad news, exacerbating the slow growth and overspending problems many platforms face. It’s [...]
It’s time to celebrate consultants’ contributions May 10, 2016 The public and thousands of organisations benefit hugely each year from the skills and innovation provided by the UK’s world-class consulting firms. For example, partnerships between management consultancies, the private sector and government are improving the management of long-term health conditions, delivering reductions in crime and greater public safety, introducing new digital services, and helping [...]
Whatever next for airlines: Does this recent case set a worrying precedent? May 10, 2016 A judge sitting at the County Court in Birmingham has awarded a passenger and her family compensation under Regulation 261/2004 for a nine hour flight delay which arose following the actions of a passenger who accidently broke the emergency door handle on the flight before her's. A part had to be flown in to repair the plane and [...]
The UK economy is in desperate need of a productivity roadmap to give it a much needed boost May 10, 2016 It’s no secret poor productivity is partly to blame for the slowing of GDP growth. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics illustrate labour productivity fell by 1.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015 from the third quarter, the biggest drop since the financial crisis in 2008. The latest ICAEW Economic Forecast [...]
Pensions lifeboat must not be abused May 10, 2016 The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) had noble beginnings. Also known as the pensions lifeboat, it was designed as safety net of last resort for employees with defined benefit pensions whose companies become insolvent. There are over 800 schemes in the PPF which has secured the retirement savings of 250,000 people since its launch around a [...]
Londoners are right to oppose Brexit: Our security is more important than our sovereignty May 10, 2016 Londoners chose Sadiq Khan as their mayor over Zac Goldsmith on Thursday. Sadiq is a declared In-er and Zac is an Out-er. All the expert pollsters – who can get things wrong – point to London being a three-quarters In city. As both a businessman and London’s first deputy mayor for policing and crime for [...]
Oxfam’s 355 economists are completely wrong: Tax havens do serve a useful purpose May 10, 2016 Yesterday, 355 economists signed a letter co-ordinated by Oxfam arguing that tax havens have “no useful purpose”. There are some luminaries among the signatories. Angus Deaton, winner of last year’s Nobel Prize for economics, is perhaps the most notable. However, rather oddly, over half the signatories come from Italy or Spain, with well over one-third [...]
As it dominates discussion at the Eurogroup, will Greece’s crisis go on indefinitely without debt relief? May 10, 2016 Vicky Pryce, a director at the Centre for Economic and Business Reform and author of Greekonomics, says Yes. Greece’s deficit has shot up to over 7 per cent of GDP and debt to more than 180 per cent of GDP as a result of the latest bailout – with the money mostly used to repay debt [...]