The City thrives because it’s open to global talent: Don’t pull up the drawbridge March 22, 2015 This week, the City of London will host one of the UK’s major set-piece foreign affairs events. Foreign secretary Philip Hammond and I will address all the ambassadors to the United Kingdom, and other high-level Diplomatic Corps, at the Mansion House. Our focus is the “commercial diplomacy” that is at the heart of the UK’s [...]
Britons are back in love with borrowing – and it spells big trouble ahead March 22, 2015 There was a decisive shift in consumer behaviour last year, according to our latest Precious Plastic study. Published today, it charts Britons’ borrowing habits and their attitudes to debt. Over the previous five years, amid the post financial crisis recession, Britons retrenched, paying back almost a quarter of their consumer credit. However, once student debt [...]
As the Bank’s chief economist suggested, are interest rates as likely to fall as they are to rise? March 22, 2015 Adam Memon, head of economic research at the Centre for Policy Studies, says Yes. The Bank of England has kept interest rates at 0.5 per cent for six years; far longer than anyone imagined back in 2009. This extraordinary monetary stimulus has played an important role in the UK’s recovery. Nevertheless, the fact that the [...]
Becoming Steve Jobs: The new biography by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli March 22, 2015 How much do you know about Steve Jobs? You recognise the custom-made black turtle necks. You probably know that, as well as co-founding Apple, he also founded NeXT and co-founded Pixar. And you may remember his death from pancreatic cancer in 2011. The authorised biography by Walter Isaacson, published the same year, gave a fact-heavy [...]
Startup-friendly? What George Osborne’s Budget means for entrepreneurs March 22, 2015 Small businesses favour certainty over circus tricks, and the announcements made in last week’s Budget have received a generally positive response from entrepreneurs that I have spoken to – especially in the context of a growing economy. FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR Many will be happy that Entrepreneur’s Relief remained largely unchanged, providing a 10 per cent [...]
Why Namibia has the best safari in Africa March 22, 2015 When it comes to seeing game in the wild, Namibia beats South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe Everyone has their ultimate fantasy destination. Ever since I peered out of an aeroplane window on a flight to Cape Town and saw the endless terracotta sand of the Namib Desert, Namibia has been mine. Now I was actually [...]
48 hours in… Antwerp March 22, 2015 WHERE TO GO Don’t miss out on the Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts. It contains the world’s largest collection of Rubens in the world, which is worth the admission fee alone, and it also has a great collection of modern painters including Magritte. kmska.be WHERE TO STAY Boulevard Leopold is the grandest B&B you’ll [...]
Easter snow: A comprehensive guide to the best places to bag a late skiing holiday March 22, 2015 FAMILY FRIENDLY Watching Franz Klammer skiing on the edge of disaster at the 1976 Winter Olympics is not for the faint-hearted. His gold medal-winning run at Innsbruck looked sure to end in catastrophe on several turns. How do you learn to ski like that? According to Klammer – who insists he was perfectly in control [...]
There’s poetry in the business world: How a humanities degree can enrich a career in commerce March 22, 2015 You can move from Shakespeare to supply chain management without being miserable. Some careers follow a straightforward and happy pattern. Many of my business school friends started life as management consultants, did an MBA, and became investment bankers – or vice versa. Or they moved from fund management into industry. Or from equities into debt. [...]
Premier League: Mourinho talks up title as edgy Blues pull away March 22, 2015 HULL CITY 2 CHELSEA 3 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho admits he is now “pretty confident” of clinching the club’s first Premier League title for five years after inching six points clear with a nervy victory in Hull yesterday. The Blues needed a late winner from substitute Loic Remy after squandering an early two-goal lead, earned [...]
