One country, two cultures: There’ll be no happy ending to the Hong Kong protests October 5, 2014 “We claim nothing but the liberty and privileges of Englishmen… we can not be deprived of them without our consent.” – George Mason, a founder of the American republic, 1776 “There is no room to make concessions on important principles.” – The People’s Daily, the official paper of the Chinese Communist Party, 3 [...]
The City is under attack from Brussels – for being a symbol of capitalism October 5, 2014 The City is England’s smallest county by area and population, so the fact that over 700,000 people are employed in finance and associated professional services in London is a testament to its importance and prosperity as a giant of the financial world. It is the world’s leading exporter of financial services: the value of the [...]
London’s philanthropists recognise the long-term value they can generate October 5, 2014 Lord mayors have been involved in philanthropy for many centuries, and my predecessors founded some of the greatest charitable ventures existing today – from schools and hospitals to water conservation and sanitation. They knew, as we do, that the sucesss of London and the UK depends on the strength and sustainability of our communities and [...]
As business surveys trigger worries over a UK growth slowdown, should we be concerned? October 5, 2014 Ben Brettell is senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. Last week’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures certainly point to a deceleration in economic growth, although it should be noted that, despite a modest fall in September, the PMI for the services sector (responsible for two-thirds of GDP) is still well into expansionary territory. Collectively, [...]
Why Elon Musk is the world’s greatest chief exec October 3, 2014 Aside from having a name that sounds like an elongated cologne, Elon Musk is a true innovator. Having co-founded PayPal in 1999 before selling it to eBay for $180m, Musk went on to launch Tesla, a company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars. Founded in 2003 by a bunch of engineers who wanted to [...]
David vs Goliath? Why Tesco’s “Every Little Helps” is losing the battle for supermarket supremacy October 3, 2014 Like most of us, I’ve been watching the differing fortunes of Tesco and Aldi play out over the past few days. And it’s compulsive viewing, not least of all because we love the underdog. Plucky little Aldi with just 500 stores, takes on the might of Tesco and gives the goliath a bloody nose. Great [...]
How to perform well in a job interview: A storytelling approach to answering questions will help October 3, 2014 The most important thing is to remember that a successful interview is primarily about the employer and their issues and problems – not about your need to pay your rent or finance your lifestyle. They have a problem and you are a potential solution. Otherwise they would not waste their time. The employer could need [...]
Chelsea are in a race against time to keep up with Manchester United and Arsenal on matchdays October 3, 2014 Having scoured the locality for an appropriate site on which to build a new stadium Chelsea have now apparently decided they must look for a solution within the confines of the existing ground footprint. Whether it’s the right location or optimal site or even cost effective is in some ways irrelevant; the club thinks it’s [...]
Why the public should condemn the next bank mega fine October 2, 2014 BARCLAYS was hit by another fine for misconduct last week, this time for £38m for failing to properly protect clients’ custody assets. Though dwarfed by other recent sanctions – notably Bank of America’s $16.65bn settlement for mis-selling mortgage-backed securities – it is another example of how banks’ shareholders are continuing to pay for executives’ misbehaviour. According [...]
Stop bashing the super rich: You’ll make us all poorer October 2, 2014 FOR ALL their wealth, ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals are a tiny minority, with little clout at the ballot box. Labour’s proposed mansion tax on homes worth over £2m is just the latest assault on the super rich, who have become an easy target for politicians; the top 1 per cent of earners already [...]