Tessa Jowell forms business group with former trade minister Mervyn Davies to make London the tech capital of the world July 16, 2015 How can London become the tech capital of the world? That's the question being put to business leaders including former trade minister Mervyn Davies, National Express chairman Sir John Armitt and London Chamber of Commerce chairman Mark Adams today. The group, which has been set up by mayoral hopeful Tessa Jowell, also includes [...]
We need a new approach to tackle youth unemployment: Lack of proper skills is strangling productivity growth across EU – ACCA Comment July 15, 2015 It is no secret that productivity is not an area of strength for the UK. In fact, productivity levels in Britain are 21 per cent lower than the average for the other six members of the G7 – namely the US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada. Clearly mindful of this fact, and the [...]
Which countries have the most female billionaires? UK has more billionaires named David than female billionaires July 15, 2015 Just under four per cent of the UK’s billionaires are women, giving it one of the world’s widest gender gaps among the super-wealthy. A breakdown of billionaires by gender has revealed Britain has the tenth lowest percentage of female millionaires. We have twice as many billionaires called David (four) as we do female billionaires (two). [...]
Britain’s night-time economy is valuable and needs protecting July 15, 2015 Summer in the UK is renowned for its festival calendar with Glastonbury, Wireless, Reading, V Festival and Bestival attracting revelers – young and old – from across the UK, Europe and further afield. But beyond the headline live music festivals, pop-ups such as Notting Hill Carnival, Lovebox, the Somerset House Summer Series and Opera in [...]
HSBC talks sweet amid rumours of a soured Apple July 14, 2015 SORTING out who’s in and who’s out on the first day of the launch of Apple’s contactless payment system proved a tricky business. On Apple’s website recently, seven companies were trumpeted as launch partners, among them banking giant HSBC. But fast-forward to the official launch day yesterday and it would appear everyone on the original [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Raheem Sterling targets honours after £49m Manchester City transfer July 14, 2015 England forward Raheem Sterling insists he is looking forward to challenging for titles on a consistent basis after completing his protracted £49m transfer to deposed Premier League champions Manchester City yesterday. City will pay Liverpool an initial £44m for the 20-year-old, with a further £5m due in add-ons, which makes Sterling the most expensive Englishman [...]
Manchester City: This graph shows how £49m Raheem Sterling deal compares to every other Sheikh Mansour signing July 14, 2015 Since Sheikh Mansour decided to shower his billions on Manchester City the club have attracted many of football's most renowned and desired players; Premier League winners, Champions League winners and even World Cup winners have all arrived at Eastlands yet Raheem Sterling – with less than 150 professional appearances to his name – is the [...]
Gender pay gap: Why Cameron’s announcement is good news for the economy July 14, 2015 Like David Cameron, I want to look back at the gender pay gap in the same way we look back at women not voting and working – as something archaic, delusional and fundamentally wrong. Cameron’s announcement that large firms will have to disclose the average salary for both male and female employees will highlight the [...]