We won’t end the UK’s culture of debt without tackling dire gaps in financial knowledge October 28, 2015 We all have financial ambitions in life: to buy our first car, to buy our first home, or to build a secure and healthy pension pot for our retirement. But while the vast majority of us have financial goals, less than half have a savings plan in place to deliver them. And what many [...]
Jason Roy interview: Kevin Pietersen is brilliant and I want to be a match-winner every game, but I’m me – not the young KP October 28, 2015 He may be spearheading England’s one-day renaissance but power-hitting opening batsman Jason Roy concedes that his extracurricular antics were not always befitting of a player craving international acclaim. South Africa-born Roy was a prominent figure during this summer’s battles against New Zealand and Australia as England took the first tentative steps towards building a prosperous [...]
Chuka Umunna and Vince Cable call for an end to “all-white” FTSE 100 boards October 28, 2015 Former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna and former business secretary Vince Cable are calling on the government to set a target to eliminate "all-white" boards at Britain's blue-chip companies. Umunna and Cable said today that ethnic diversity among directors has "gone into reverse" and the government should step in. “Today, there are just four non-white CEOs [...]
Asthma drug Montelukast could actually de-age the human brain, new research shows October 28, 2015 A drug usually used to treat asthma in children could reverse ageing in the human brain, a new study has found. A group of scientists at the Paracelsus Medical University in Austria looked at the impact of the pill Montelukast in rats of different ages, and found that it improved learning and memory in older [...]
Meggitt share price tumbles as it warns on full-year profits and considers 300 job cuts amid slow sales October 28, 2015 Shares in Meggitt tumbled as much as 22.9 per cent this morning after the engineering company warned on its full-year profits amid challenging market conditions, which could lead to 300 jobs cuts. The FTSE 100-listed firm said challenging trading conditions would lead to full-year underlying operating profit coming in "meaningfully below" its current estimate of £369m. In response, Meggitt could axe 300 jobs globally [...]
Whatever chancellor George Osborne does next on tax credits he should set it out as clearly as possible October 27, 2015 The Conservative voter who berated energy minister Amber Rudd on Question Time became something of an overnight sensation. Michelle Dorrell was visibly upset as she said life would become very difficult for her and her family if the government was to proceed with its reductions in tax credits. But just a day or two later, [...]
Northern Powerhouse child development gap: Educational impact of North/South divide visible from age of five October 27, 2015 Children as young as five are suffering from the impact of the north-south divide on their development and education, a think tank has warned. Less than half of children born into the poorest families in the north of England reach a "good standard" of development by school age – but they are behind even their [...]
Hipsters sending Britain’s wine producers soaring October 27, 2015 The number of new UK wine producers is flying – and it’s all down to your friendly neighbourhood hipster. The HMRC received 65 applications from budding wine producers last year – up 41 per cent from the 46 applications that came in the year before. Looking back, the figure has doubled in the past two [...]
A guaranteed minimum income is not a welfare reform silver bullet October 26, 2015 There is a growing recognition that current social welfare programmes are inadequate at best and counterproductive at worst. The debt and taxes needed to finance these programmes continues to rise, yet far too many people remain trapped in poverty. As a result, there is a growing search for alternatives. One idea drawing renewed interest [...]
London’s housing crisis: Instead of building east or building up, it’s time for managed release of green belt land October 26, 2015 The capital’s housing crisis is an issue often swept under the carpet in people’s cramped, sub-standard living rooms. Having just launched its Housing and Planning Bill, the government is continuing to reassure people about that its plans to roll out one million new homes by 2020 in order to solve the sticky situation in which [...]