It takes more than publicity to create employee-owners November 1, 2012 IT IS not surprising that the government is trying to encourage more employees to take a significant stake in their company. Firms with employee shareholders tend to have higher productivity, greater levels of innovation and better employee engagement. But while it is good that the government is recognising the benefits of the model, the measures [...]
As Comet heads towards administration, is the traditional UK high street on the ropes? November 1, 2012 YES Dan Wagner The recent problems plaguing Comet have stemmed from the fact that it considered the internet to be a threat. As a result, it was sluggish in developing adequate online and mobile commerce strategies, and lost its position in the highly competitive consumer electronics market. Successive managements failed to grasp the importance of [...]
Rapid responses November 1, 2012 Cost of care [Re: The real reasons why living costs are still going up, yesterday] As someone who has used childcare for the last seven years, I feel qualified to comment on Ryan Bourne’s article. There is a deep irony in the sector – although childcare itself is very expensive (as Bourne says, due to [...]
Financial regulation is worsening Europe’s demographic time bomb October 31, 2012 THERE is more to Europe’s current challenges than debt, stagnation and unemployment. There is an elephant in the room that could become the biggest issue of all: an ageing population. Europe’s baby boom started in the 1950s and the proportion of retirees relative to the working population, therefore, is beginning to rise. This will inevitably [...]
Hurricane Sandy has stormed through the race but not blown it off course October 31, 2012 AFTER well-publicised but ineffectual interventions by both Donald Trump and celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, this year’s “October Surprise” looked poised to be as meaningless to the presidential race as the “revelation” four years ago that Barack Obama’s aunt was living in the US illegally. But with Hurricane Sandy slamming into the East Coast, Mother Nature [...]
The real reasons why living costs are still going up October 31, 2012 ED MILIBAND is said to want to fight the next election on the issue of living standards. This week a report by the Resolution Foundation gave him the intellectual ammunition he needed. It highlighted how income growth for middle and low income households will be constrained by technological and global pressures and the continued structural [...]
After energy minister John Hayes criticised UK wind farms, should Britain build more? October 31, 2012 YES Clare McNeil Onshore and offshore wind power is a hugely important source of future growth for the UK. Onshore wind alone provides almost 9,000 jobs and boosts the economy by £548m per year. It is also one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy around – costs will be on a par with fossil [...]
Rapid responses October 31, 2012 Heseltine’s project [Re: A corporatist economic growth plan that won’t rescue UK Plc, yesterday] It is good the government is exploring ways to support growth. But Michael Heseltine’s solutions, including greater state intervention and regulation, are unlikely to help businesses. Better access to funding and national insurance holidays, for example, would be of more practical [...]
The government should learn from big companies on local pay policy October 30, 2012 THE Heseltine Review, written by former deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine is published today. It recommends how growth might be spurred across the country by public sector bodies interacting more effectively with the private sector. One essential part of this plan – although unfortunately not included by Heseltine – is reform of how public sector [...]
If corporation tax didn’t already exist it would be madness to introduce it October 30, 2012 CORPORATION tax is back in the news. Starbucks is the latest company to be in the spotlight, having allegedly paid £8m corporation tax in 14 years, despite sales of more than £1bn. This became noteworthy when the Prime Minister waded into the debate, expressing his concern with the levels of tax some companies are paying. [...]