Deterring short-term trading won’t make firms invest for the long term July 14, 2015 Toyota has announced a new class of “long-term” shares, which give investors a higher pay-off if they hold onto them for five years. By locking in its shareholders, Toyota believes that it will have the freedom to undertake long-term projects, rather than being pressured to pursue short-term profit. And Toyota’s idea is echoed elsewhere. [...]
Scandinavia provides the evidence for George Osborne’s war on welfare July 14, 2015 George Osborne’s Budget has been met with predictable outrage from the poverty lobby. The cuts to the welfare budget will allegedly create shocking levels of deprivation. Young people in particular, it is stated, have been singled out for punitive measures. On the face of it, the arguments seem plausible. Many people on benefits will get [...]
Two cheers for Obama’s historic Iran nuclear deal July 14, 2015 During my decade working in Washington, those who survived and thrived in the shark tank – regardless of ideology – tended to have one thing in common: an eerie sixth sense for which power-brokers were in it for themselves, and for that treasured minority who were involved in politics for the greater good of the [...]
Will Cameron help women in the workplace by forcing large firms to disclose gender pay data? July 14, 2015 Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at CEBR and author with Stefan Stern of Why Women Need Quotas (Biteback, 2015), says Yes Voluntary arrangements have not worked and forcing organisations to publish pay differentials is now essential. Interestingly young women do better than young men in their 20s. But thereafter the trend changes and the pay [...]
Forget Greece: Europe is a great place to invest right now July 14, 2015 All eyes have been on Europe as the Greece crisis goes from one stage to the next. The saga has caused great concern among investors as to how European stock markets will be affected. But so far, the impact has been limited. Stock markets across Europe have been volatile, opening and closing higher and [...]
Restaurant review: Les Deux Salons is a reassuringly old-school restaurant July 14, 2015 You wait all year to review a French restaurant and then two come along at once. Last week Les Gourmets des Ternes, with its no-nonsense, unfaffy cooking, reminded me of a time before the gastronomic landscape was dominated by “sharing concepts” and pop-ups and street food and cocktails with bits of bacon in them. Les [...]
If you want to know your wine, learn your vintages July 14, 2015 Vintage wine is sometimes thought of in vague terms as either old wine or a particularly good drop. In actual fact, the vast majority of wines are from a specific vintage, which simply means that its grapes are primarily or all grown and harvested within a single year. The micro-climate of each wine-growing region will [...]
Mix it up: The perfect cocktail is a sublime balancing act July 14, 2015 The Cherrybrum Cocktail is probably the best rum and cola you’ll ever try Cocktails are a balance of five flavours: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. A good cocktail is made or lost on the balance between two of them: sweet and sour. The sweet in your cocktail will usually come from sugar syrup, [...]
Working lunch in Canary Wharf: Iberica, Cabot Square July 14, 2015 Our guide to the best places to eat during office hours in the City and Canary Wharf WHAT? Sophisticated tapas in a sparse, rustic setting. Think massive contemporary light fixtures and hunks of meat served on chopping boards. WHERE? A vast industrial space just off Cabot Square in Canary Wharf. It has [...]
Get what you want at work – by asking for it July 14, 2015 Communicate your worth and don’t apologise for it A management position opens up, and Plato and Aristotle both ask to be considered. Plato, placing a supreme value on truth, relies on his track record to do the talking. But Aristotle knows better. He emphasises his own credibility (ethos), puts forward a consistent, well-evidenced plan [...]
