A mountain out of a McFlurry? November 5, 2019 The discussion surrounding the departure of McDonald’s former CEO, Steve Easterbrook, has revealed a nuanced landscape. In such a space, sweeping conclusions aren’t always illustrative. The fact remains, we don’t yet know any details of Easterbrook’s relationship with a colleague beyond that is was consensual. Was it a one-off fling? Are they in love? We [...]
Boardrooms are snoozing on the UK’s sleep crisis November 5, 2019 Britain’s productivity has long been the bane of the economy. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that UK output has declined year-on-year since 2014 and lags behind the rest of Europe. Clearly, there’s no silver-bullet solution to turning the tide – it will take a mix of tried-and-tested measures, like application of [...]
Saudi Aramco IPO: The pros and cons November 5, 2019 Saudi Aramco is the mother of all oil companies, and the most profitable business in the world. Last year, its net income stood at $111bn, dwarfing the earnings of other oil giants. So the announcement on Sunday that the state-owned Saudi Arabian company will finally go public is massive news for investors, and marks the [...]
Facebook has a job to win new cheerleaders November 5, 2019 For an outfit founded on the principle of bringing friends together, Facebook has cut a lonely figure in recent years. In America, founder Mark Zuckerberg has been hauled to DC to answer privacy concerns and one of the Democrats’ leading presidential candidates, Elizabeth Warren, has all but declared war on the firm. Politicians enjoy the [...]
DEBATE: Can the Tories win on the NHS? November 5, 2019 Can the Tories win on the NHS? Lauren McEvatt, a former Wales Office special adviser and managing director at Morpeth Consulting, says YES. The Tories can win on the NHS, because the Tories can win in Wales. Yesterday’s Welsh Barometer poll has the Conservatives on track to gain nine seats from Labour. The success of the [...]
This parliament has taught us the strength of our democracy November 5, 2019 The 57th parliament of the United Kingdom officially comes to an end tomorrow. It has seen off a Prime Minister, survived a prorogation that wasn’t, and failed to deliver Brexit. Decried by the attorney general as a “zombie parliament”, it has gone to the country in search of new brains. It will have a curious [...]
Do British voters really want to ban billionaires like Corbyn says? November 5, 2019 Say what you like about Jeremy Corbyn, at least he’s not afraid to play the hits. A week into the General Election run-up, and the Labour campaign is already built squarely around two messages. The first is that the secret Tory plot to privatise the NHS, nurtured over decades, is about to spring into full [...]
Whoever you support, this culture of MP abuse is utterly unacceptable November 5, 2019 This year, I stood as an MEP candidate. I was tremendously excited – it had been a dream of mine since I was in school to be a politician. The debate on Europe was exhilarating, new parties had entered the fray, and digital platforms meant that engaging the public was easier than ever. Within an [...]
The founder of Natural Cycles on creating an algorithm that is revolutionising birth control November 4, 2019 Contraception hasn’t really changed since the 60s. The pill is still very much the most widely-used option, and often an unsatisfactory one at that, with many users struggling with side effects like migraines, mood changes, or weight gain, to name but a few. And while the long-awaited male contraceptive pill passed human safety tests earlier [...]
Over the last decade, central banks have gained huge influence over our lives November 4, 2019 Monetary policy, central bank independence, quantitative easing. These and many other subjects tend to make people’s eyes glaze over, and are best left to finance nerds to battle over in quiet corners. Yet central banks have, over the last decade, emerged from the shadows of arcane macroeconomic policy discussions to become fundamental to all our [...]