British Steel falls into insolvency after government bailout talks fail, in ‘devastating’ blow for 5,000 workers May 22, 2019 British Steel has collapsed into insolvency after the last week of attempts to lobby the government for a £75m cash injection failed. Read more: Troubled British Steel braces for insolvency in last-ditch loan talks The industrial giant – which employs 5,000 people – has been asking the government for an emergency loan designed to save [...]
Employers want to use wearable tech to track the health, sleep, fitness and productivity of the office May 22, 2019 If you've woken up and checked your watch for last night’s sleep data, you’re not alone. In the UK, more than five million wearables (such as Fitbits and step counters) are now part of individuals’ everyday lives – 1.96m were sold in 2017 alone. So it’s only natural for employers to be interested in the power of [...]
The robots are coming – and they’re (potentially) after your job May 22, 2019 | City Talk By Ian Hall (City AM, for the CFA Institute) ‘You want your robot to be smarter than the other team’s robot’: advice that sounds like it belongs to a participant in combat competition TV show Robot Wars. But, actually, it’s the increasingly competitive and technology-affected situation that many investment professionals will face in the workplace [...]
How to cope with the confusion around social care costs May 22, 2019 Distracted by the ongoing Brexit crisis, the government appears to have shoved the not-so-small issue of social care to one side. With a growing elderly population (by 2046, a quarter of the UK population will be aged 65 or over), and proportionately fewer taxpayers able to prop them up, the rising cost of social care [...]
Lloyd’s chair says misconduct cases may emerge as soon as this week May 21, 2019 Lloyd’s chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown expects two or three cases of serious misconduct at the insurance marketplace to emerge as soon as this week as his organisation tackles reports of widespread sexual harassment. Read more: Lloyd's of London unveils 'robust plan' following sexual harassment claims “There are two or three quite big live issues out there [...]
How a relationship break-up spurred this founder to build ‘Ebay for travel’ to help flog unwanted holidays May 20, 2019 When you think of unwanted items, holidays don’t tend to spring to mind. But according to Simon Powell, founder of TransferTravel, billions of dollars are wasted globally on unwanted travel every year, while an estimated 220,000 hotel rooms are paid for and never used every day in the US alone, wasting $8.6bn annually. And with [...]
Two-thirds of small businesses say government is not on their side, new poll reveals May 16, 2019 Two-thirds of small businesses do not feel the government is on their side, a new survey has revealed in a report calling for a radical shake-up of the tax system. A YouGov poll for the Centre of Policy Studies think-tank shows 62 per cent of small business owners and managers don’t believe those in power [...]
Insurance giant Allianz posts first quarter profit boost to beat expectations May 14, 2019 German insurer Allianz said today its net profit for the first quarter rose slightly, ahead of market expectations. Its results were boosted by lower claims for natural disasters but it said high expenses due to investments had led to a decline in operating profit in its asset management business. Operating profit increased 7.5 per cent [...]
Lloyd’s of London brings in Banking Standards Board to conduct independent review May 12, 2019 Lloyd’s of London has commissioned an independent review into its workplace culture following allegations of sexual harassment and bullying. The insurance market has asked the Banking Standards Board to conduct a market-wide investigation beginning tomorrow. Read more: Lloyd's of London warns drunk employees could face disciplinary action A survey will be given to about 45,000 [...]
Insurer RSA’s profits up after mild weather in the first quarter May 9, 2019 RSA said milder weather in the UK and Ireland helped boost its profit in the first quarter, sending its shares higher. On a constant currency basis, operating profit rose in the first quarter, staying flat on a reported basis. Shares rose 2.2 per cent today to close at 546p. RSA said that milder weather in [...]