The Malthusian bull market carries on February 10, 2011 IN 1980, two academics, Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich, agreed a now famous wager. Ehrlich chose five commodity metals and bet that over the next 10 years, they would get more expensive. Ultimately, Simon won, and all five metals – copper, chromium, nickel, tin and tungsten – got progressively less expensive all the way up [...]
Size matters: Smaller firms can still make large profits February 9, 2011 THE government is hoping to cast a spell over the banking sector with its Merlin deal with the banks. The growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) is thought to be vitally necessary to economic recovery, and getting the banks to lend to them necessary to promote their growth. Smaller companies usually lead economies [...]
Sipp at the cup of flexible savings February 9, 2011 A GROWING band of investors are taking the reins of their retirement planning, and are stashing their cash into self-invested personal pensions (Sipp). Forthcoming changes to pension rules, as well as the advent of auto-enrolment for lower-earners, will increasingly see people take control of their pension prospects, according to experts. “These [moves] are likely to [...]
Warning: new pension rules ahead February 9, 2011 SWEEPING changes to pensions are in the offing, with high earners being among the most affected. As always, there are winners and losers. “For some the new rules are an opportunity, whilst for others these impose further restrictions,” says Andrew James, advice policy manager at wealth adviser Towry. Since April 2009, people earning more than [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS February 9, 2011 42 PER CENT PREFER DOG TO PARTNER It is a sad day for British romance when 42 per cent of British people prefer their dog or cat to their partner. A survey conducted by M&S Pet Insurance shows that when it comes down to the “me or the dog” question, 42 per cent would always [...]
Making the most of a mentor February 9, 2011 During Andy Murray’s disastrous loss at the Australian Open final last week Boris Becker said that what the young Scot needed was a mentor. Mentoring is increasingly common in the world of business, but is often done badly. But what is the big idea? And how do you get the most out of a mentor? [...]
What bees can teach you about business success February 9, 2011 WHAT can bees teach us about business? On the face of it, the life of the hive might have few similarities with the rat race. But on closer inspection, they can teach us a lot, especially about the sorts of organisations that are succesful and what you should look for in an employer. If the [...]
ODD JOBS February 9, 2011 THINK about the word “business”. There’s lots of busy-ness in business, but not much stop-and-thinky-ness. My job as the “Corporate Philosopher” is all about helping people in business stop and think about what they’re doing; why they’re doing it; and whether it’s right or wrong. As you might imagine, I’m now in high demand after [...]
Clarity on plea bargaining is needed February 8, 2011 WHATEVER the final shape of the Bribery Act, which was once again delayed last week, one area that needs to be clarified is the question of plea bargaining. A number of cases have sown confusion in the minds of British businesses. Clarity on plea bargaining is now sorely needed. The confusion dates to July 2009 [...]
Lawyers are bad at business? Think again February 8, 2011 THIS paper recently ran an article warning that for lawyers “doom is nigh” and that they should shape up or ship out. The context was the Legal Services Act and its welcome shake up of the way in which legal services can be delivered. The article had many solid, good messages: in summary, cutting overheads [...]
