To fuel the pensions revolution, we need to put passion into pensions – and that means opening them up to social investing February 9, 2016 The humble nudge has worked. With around six million people now automatically enrolled into their first pension, we have reason to be hopeful that the UK is now saving for its future. However, it’s much too early to declare mission accomplished. We’re still waiting for the large number of smaller companies to enrol their employees into schemes, and they [...]
Seven facts about Kickstarter as it successfully funds its 100,000th campaign February 9, 2016 Crowdfunding site Kickstarter has just funded its 100,000th successful campaign. Crowdfunding has quickly grown into a force to be reckoned with, and Kickstarter has had some massive success stories. The biggest, of course, is Oculus Rift, the wildly hyped virtual reality headset snapped up by Facebook for $2bn. The most recent, the 100,000 milestone, was [...]
Mayoral Tech Manifesto 2016: We must liberalise skilled visa policy to ensure the success of London’s tech sector February 9, 2016 The new Mayoral Tech Manifesto 2016 outlines the bold steps the next mayor must take to maintain London’s position as the digital capital of Europe, and make it a truly digital city for businesses and citizens. But can it be done? In theory, it can. If the infrastructure, investment and government decision-making aligns, the opportunity is there for [...]
Setting bank data free with open APIs is just the start for consumer choice February 9, 2016 Today’s report from the UK Open Banking Working Group has recommended the creation of an Open Banking Standard that will make it possible for banking data to be shared and used securely. But what does this actually mean? In layman’s terms, it means data that banks hold on their customer base – balances, transaction history [...]
Whether London’s next mayor is Zac Goldsmith or Sadiq Khan, they must pay attention to the tech sector February 9, 2016 A mayoral election campaign can be a strange thing. Without the national media attention of a General Election one can be forgiven for sometimes thinking that the candidates have gone quiet. But they're out there. From Orpington's church halls to Barking's pub function rooms, the candidates know that victory is secured one local paper at a [...]
Banking data to become open by the end of the year as industry and regulators work on ambitious banking standards and open API plans February 9, 2016 Banking could be made simpler for customers – from comparing mortgages to switching accounts – with ambitious plans for banks and regulators to streamline the sharing of data as soon as the end of the year that would establish the UK as a world leader in financial technology and banking innovation. A group of leading experts appointed by the Treasury [...]
Don’t overhaul private pensions for the sake of saving money, chancellor February 9, 2016 George Osborne has been a radical on private pensions. The 2014 Budget decision to allow individuals to opt-out of purchasing an annuity was a true liberalising measure, enabling people to access their pension pots and use their own savings as they see fit. Yet now it is rumoured that the chancellor might announce a complete [...]
Why modern managers need these five vital old-school skills February 9, 2016 Managers have been around for millennia. But even with this much collective experience, the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) research shows that four in five are still “accidental managers” – those that find themselves in the role without proper practice or training. Some insight into why is provided by the finalists of CMI’s Management Book of [...]
UK Waspi pensions campaign: The government must revisit changes to the state pension age that disadvantage women February 8, 2016 We in the SNP are not against equalisation of the state pension age; that’s not why we support the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign. It's perfectly fair for men and women to retire at the same age. However, the pace of the process and the lack of transitional arrangements make up the real [...]
What careers have the best prospects for recent graduates? Here are the sectors seeking out the most grads so far in 2016, but accounting and finance fails to make the top five February 8, 2016 With the cost of university education on the rise and the job market seemingly more competitive by the day, it pays (literally) for graduates to pick their profession with care. Online jobs website CV-Library has today revealed the sectors with the most graduate jobs on offer so far in 2016. Perhaps unsurprisingly, engineering takes the top spot [...]
