The entrepreneurial economy is taking off but we’re yet to realise its potential January 21, 2014 AT THE launch of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013, Vince Cable announced that “10 per cent of the UK workforce is engaged in entrepreneurship activity.” Then he ploughed on with his speech, leaving the audience wondering precisely what this was supposed to mean. After decades of being politely sidelined, entrepreneurship is political and economic orthodoxy. Few [...]
Why it’s time to stop feeding our addiction to ultra loose monetary policy January 20, 2014 WITH GDP still 2 per cent below its pre-crisis peak and consumer price index inflation falling back to its 2 per cent target, many argue that Britain should stick with extraordinarily loose monetary policy for longer. Just yesterday, the EY Item club urged the Bank of England to bolster its forward guidance policy, and to [...]
City jobs market bouncing back January 20, 2014 CITY hiring is booming on the back of the burgeoning recovery, business groups and recruiters said today, indicating the economy is at last getting back to health. More than 10,000 net new finance workers were hired in the final three months of 2013 and an additional 15,000 net will be taken on this quarter as [...]
The 10 biggest challenges facing small businesses in 2014 January 20, 2014 Business confidence blossomed at the end of 2013, and things have got off to a good start for firms this year too. Figures from the British Chambers of Commerce showed that confidence in a broad-based UK recovery is growing, and net optimism flew to 71 per cent at the end of the year. When it [...]
The 10 biggest challenges facing small businesses in 2014 January 16, 2014 Business confidence blossomed at the end of 2013, and things have got off to a good start for firms this year too. Figures from the British Chambers of Commerce showed that confidence in a broad-based UK recovery is growing, and net optimism flew to 71 per cent at the end of the year. When it [...]
Co-operative comes out top in Stonewall survey January 15, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE has scooped top spot in a Stonewall study into how well private sector employers support gay, lesbian and bisexual staff. The research, which saw housing company Gentoo named overall top employer when including both the public and private sectors, also praised Accenture, EY and IBM for their engagement, support and attitude towards sexuality at [...]
City Moves for 16 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 15, 2014 Seddons The law firm has recruited James Ward as a partner in its private client team. He was most recently at Lee Bolton Monier-Williams, where he was a partner in its private client division. HSBC Private Bank The private bank has made two senior appointments. Paul O’Donnell joins as head of UK domestic. He has over 25 [...]
Government and industry team up to launch new shale gas study January 13, 2014 So the government’s shale push continues after yesterday’s business rate bonanza for local councils, with a new study to assess what the industry needs in terms of skills, material and equipment. The new study, conducted by EY, is jointly funded by the Department of Business Skills & Innovation (BIS) and the United Kingdom Onshore Operators [...]
Business lending to boom as UK recovery takes hold January 12, 2014 LENDING is set to rise in every area of the economy, analysts at EY forecast today, as the recovery finally gives banks the confidence to supply more credit. No other European country’s bankers have so much confidence, the study found, underlining the strength of the recovery in Britain. Firms of all sizes and sectors in [...]
City Moves for 10 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 9, 2014 Grant ThorntonThe business advisory firm has announced the appointment of Richard Milnes as a partner in its financial services tax team. He joins from EY, and has previously worked in international tax for Shell and as head of tax planning at Lloyds. CouttsThe bank has recruited Matthew Spencer as executive director and head of intermediaries [...]