New private university in £10m placing June 5, 2011 SOME of Britain’s most celebrated academics have secured almost £10m in a private placement to launch a for-profit university that will charge £18,000 a year in tuition fees. AC Grayling, the famous philosopher, will become Master of the Bloomsbury-based New College of Humanities, which will offer degrees in English, history, philosophy, economics and law. He [...]
UK loses out in competitive league tables June 5, 2011 BRITAIN’S international competitiveness has plummeted since 1997, a Westminster think-tank will claim today. The UK has dropped out of the top 10 countries for business conditions in three leading international comparisons, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) states in a new report. As well as reducing the government’s mammoth annual deficit, the coalition must “open [...]
Wealthy individuals fear they lack financial rigour June 5, 2011 WEALTHY people are more likely to have misgivings over their lack of financial self-discipline, despite having more spare cash, a survey from Barclays Wealth reveals today. One third of wealthy individuals wish they had more self-control over their financial behaviour, it said. Almost half (45 per cent) of people worth over £10m expressed a desire [...]
Job vacancies dropped in May June 5, 2011 JOB opportunities have slipped for the second straight month, yet remain 18 per cent higher than the same stage last year, a survey by Reed showed today. Vacancies have increased by 21 per cent since December 2009, the recruitment firm said. “Private sector growth is responsible for this increase across the board,” Reed said. Vacancies [...]
Calls to reform tribunal awards June 5, 2011 PAYOUTS for discrimination cases should be capped at £50,000, a senior City of London policy official has said. Employees that lose discrimination cases should be liable to pay some of the employer’s legal costs, Sir Michael Snyder has advised the government. Snyder’s comments echo the sentiment of many business groups in calling for swift reform [...]
UK’s factories confident of fast growth June 5, 2011 BRITAIN’S manufacturers remain confident that they can drive the economy forwards, leading industry group EEF revealed today. Despite the sector accounting for only 13 per cent of GDP, manufacturing has contributed one third of growth since the recovery began, a report from EEF said. And a positive balance of 27 per cent of factories are [...]
Bank’s rate-setters welcome Broadbent to the committee June 5, 2011 FORMER Goldman Sachs economist Ben Broadbent makes his debut on the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee this week, with stuttering growth and stubborn inflation heightening its dilemma. Only sluggish expansion was recorded for May in the UK’s service and manufacturing sectors, which make up over 90 per cent of GDP. Yet consumer price inflation spiked [...]
Persistent price pressures leave investors looking for alternatives June 5, 2011 HEIGHTENED inflation is forcing investors to look at alternative assets, fresh research from Clear Path Analysis reveals today. The world economy faces a “long term upward trend in inflation caused by lax monetary policies globally, which will significantly erode the value of low return assets and cash,” according to Deutsche Bank economist Thomas Mayer. Investors [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: IS IT TIME TO START NORMALISING INTEREST RATES? June 5, 2011 PATRICK MINFORD | CARDIFF BUSINESS SCHOOL “Yes, because more easing will be counterproductive. They have to accept that there’s an environment of slow growth now. The danger is the Bank could push sterling down even more, by staying loose while the rest of the world tightens, resulting in longer-term inflationary effects.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON [...]
Airlines slam EU emissions trade scheme June 5, 2011 GLOBAL airlines attacked the European Union yesterday over its plan to force them into the bloc’s emissions trading scheme, as the EU vowed to stand firm against threats of retaliation. Aviation chiefs spoke out against the EU move at a meeting in Singapore, with some warning of the danger of a trade war and airlines [...]