Harrods security guards vote on strike action January 13, 2020 Harrods security guards have begun to ballot for strike action today following a dispute between union members and management over pay. Members of Unite will decide whether to launch industrial action over a below inflation pay rise and unpaid work. Read more: Man charged with murder for fatal Harrods stabbing The union said members are [...]
DEBATE: Is there any real benefit to food brands jumping on Veganuary? January 13, 2020 From Greggs to Burger King, the ‘Veganuary’ movement is quickly gaining members — but is there any real benefit to food brands that jump on the plant-based bandwagon? YES, says Mike Foster, founder and creative director of Straight Forward Design. Just ask Greggs. Its vegan sausage roll, launched during Veganuary 2019, is the bakery chain’s biggest [...]
Will cooling US jobs growth encourage Fed to cut rates? January 10, 2020 The US economy added 145,000 jobs at the end of 2019, a figure that has raised the question of another Federal Reserve interest rate cut. While the unemployment rate remained flat at 3.5 per cent in December, the total is lower than November’s 256,000 jobs, a number boosted by striking GM staff returning to factories. [...]
House prices 2020: How will the UK property market fare next year? December 26, 2019 It’s been a rocky year for the property market, as protracted political uncertainty and affordability problems left house prices largely stagnant in London and across the UK. But with a resounding victory for Boris Johnson in the General Election earlier this month, and the prospect of an end to the Brexit saga in sight, 2020 [...]
Why investors may need to dig a little deeper in 2020 December 23, 2019 Summing up the outlook for 2020, Schroders’ CIO thinks that superficially, overall market valuations look uninteresting. But dig a little deeper and there may be reasons for active investors to be enthusiastic about 2020. As we move into a new decade, we don’t think it’s time to party like it’s 1999, but it’s not a [...]
How the Tories pulled off the best campaign of a generation December 19, 2019 One week on, post-election commentary continues to be dominated by analysis of Labour’s woes. In plummeting to its worst defeat since the Second World War, the party now faces an identity crisis, and the fear is that things can only get worse. This focus on Labour’s existential spiral, however, ignores one side of how the [...]
A lesson in cognitive dissonance for the Corbynites December 18, 2019 Behavioural economics — which extends the ability of economics to explain the world — has become very fashionable. Richard Thaler, Nobel Prize winner for his work in this area, observed that most of the time, the rational choice model of standard economics works well. People gather information on the various alternatives open to them, and [...]
Review of 2019: Koepka and McIlroy inseparable after brilliant years, Lowry’s Open triumph the stand-out moment December 16, 2019 Golf has enjoyed another great year and with 2019 drawing to a close it is time for me to look back on its stand-out protagonists, moments and more. Player of the year This is a tricky one, but the world rankings don’t lie: Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy are No1 and No2 for a good [...]
The best and worst ads of 2019 December 16, 2019 It has been a year of highs and lows for adland. PRs, creative agencies, and brands will be examining their advertising efforts this month, and while some will be pleased with their work, others will be looking to improve next year. To help with this process, I asked members of the marketing industry and other [...]
Outlook 2020: Global economy December 16, 2019 The global economy should perform better in 2020, underpinned by a US-China trade truce and lower interest rates, Schroders’ chief economist Keith Wade explains. We recently upgraded our 2020 global growth forecast to 2.6 per cent, due to prospects of a “phase one” US-China trade deal and lower US interest rates US interest rate cuts [...]