Weird Christmas? Retail sales fell in December – as clothing sales were hit by warm weather January 22, 2016 Either people finished their Christmas shopping early this year, or they had a decidedly miserly Christmas. Official figures have shown retail sales actually fell by one per cent between November and December. But the figures, by the Office for National Statistics, showed sales rose 2.6 per cent compared with the year before, while online sales rose 8.2 per cent. [...]
George Soros says the same conditions are in place as those that caused the crisis in 2008 – and slams Donald Trump for “doing the work of Isis” January 22, 2016 Legendary fund manager George Soros has reiterated his warning that the global economy is in the same state now as it was before the global crisis in 2008. During a speech at Davos, he pointed out that "there is a financial crisis and a bear market", the Guardian reported. "The source of the disequilibrium is different. In [...]
RIP the Ed stone, after Labour finally confirms the £8,000 tablet was destroyed soon after the General Election January 22, 2016 It was one of the highlights (and, arguably, turning points) of the General Election: the moment Ed Miliband revealed an eight foot-tall limestone monolith, engraved with his six core manifesto policies. Within hours, the two-tonne slab of stone – designed, no doubt, to demonstrate Labour's unshakeable commitment to "a better future" – had gone viral, with [...]
JP Morgan’s Pencils Down initiative is proof the City’s financial institutions can adapt to millennials’ needs January 22, 2016 Millennials, Generation Y, the yoof – call them what you like, but HR departments the land over are going to increasingly desperate lengths to attract the people currently taking their first steps into working life. Kids these days are demanding, high-minded and tech savvy, oft-cited research tells us. They expect oodles of spare time, with [...]
Investment banking giant JP Morgan is actually encouraging its workers to take time off – and fast-tracking January 21, 2016 Investment banking: it's not usually associated with a softly, softly approach when it comes to HR. But that's all about to change – after a new policy introduced by US giant JP Morgan means workers will be encouraged to take time off at weekends. The so-called Pencils Down initiative was designed to be "realistic to what this [...]
EU referendum: In the 1970s, people’s views on immigration had nothing to do with their views on Brexit January 21, 2016 As debate around the impending In-Out European referendum escalates, it's interesting to look at how our attitudes to the EU and the baggage it brings with it have changed. These days, membership of the European Union is inextricably linked with a higher rate of immigration, but it hasn't always been so. A piece of research put out [...]
Memo to Barclays staff from Tom King confirms job cuts at its investment bank as it closes its Moscow and Brazil offices January 21, 2016 Barclays has confirmed hundreds of job cuts as it unveiled plans to pull out of some emerging markets. In a memo to staff today, Tom King, the new chief of Barclays' investment bank, said the bank will re-focus on its businesses in the UK and US, as well as maintaining a presence in key markets including China, Hong [...]
Buoyant in Bexley or sad in Sutton: These are London’s happiest and saddest boroughs, according to Twitter January 21, 2016 If you live in Sutton and find it hard to drag yourself out of bed in the morning, it's not your fault, it turns out. A new survey, which has ranked London's boroughs from happiest to saddest based on their tweets, has found Sutton is London's most miserable borough. Enfield comes a close second, with Lewisham [...]
RICS: Housing demand jumps as buy-to-let investors go on a mad dash to buy properties January 21, 2016 Demand for property in the UK hit a three-month high in December, as prospective buy-to-let investors rushed to beat the impending rise in stamp duty. Figures by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed the balance of new buyer inquiries rose to plus 16 in December, from plus seven in November. In November, chancellor [...]
Pearson share price jumps as it unveils plans to cut 4,000 jobs and reduce headcount by 10 per cent. January 21, 2016 Another day, another massive set of job cuts. Publisher Pearson, which last year sold off its stakes in the Financial Times and The Economist, has announced plans to cut 10 per cent of its workforce – about 4,000 jobs – in an effort to "simplify" its business. In interim results today, the company said it [...]
