McDonald’s to offer childcare and tuition amid hiring push July 14, 2021 McDonald’s will be offering tuition payments and higher hourly wages as well as childcare support in an attempt to attract workers due to many of its restaurants struggling to employ staff in the US. Since the pandemic, the fast food giant has let staff members go in order to save running costs, but is now [...]
Euro 2020 fuels surge in consumer spending July 13, 2021 Euro 2020, warmer weather and the lifting of Covid restrictions drove consumer spending up sharply in the UK in June, according to new figures released today. Data from Barclaycard shows spending was 11.1 per cent higher last month compared to June 2019, before the arrival of Covid, the sharpest rise since the start of the [...]
How to build an ethical business July 12, 2021 The demand for businesses to be ethical is rising. But how can companies ensure that sustainability does not come at the cost of financial stability? Christian Koch investigates. This article was written before the coronavirus pandemic had escalated in the UK, Europe and the USA and first appears in the April 2020 issue of CA magazine. [...]
Rishi Sunak hints he could block pension triple lock rise July 8, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak hinted he could block an increase to the state pension today, backtracking on his manifesto pledge to keep the triple lock. “I very much recognise people’s concerns” he told the BBC’s Today programme. He went to on to highlight that the triple lock is government policy, but did not commit to topping [...]
Brexit minister hits back at Elton John: ‘He had his first hits before the UK became EU member’ June 29, 2021 Elton John became successful before the UK joined the bloc, Brexit minister Lord Frost said today, as he hit back at criticism from the singer over post-Brexit visa rules for musicians in the EU. Sir Elton has previously warned of a “looming catastrophe” facing the UK music industry because of new travel restrictions on touring [...]
Deliver us from Evel: Whitehall is gearing up to fight Scottish Independence June 24, 2021 Six weeks on from the Scottish election defined by a campaign for a second independence referendum and the Nationalist camp has been eerily quiet about indyref2 since the ballots were cast. Nicola Sturgeon and her party’s commitment to a second independence vote remain undimmed, but they know Scots are wary of rushing into another campaign [...]
Protecting the green belt is not about the environment, it’s blinkered self-interest June 22, 2021 The UK needs approximately 345,000 new homes per year if we are to tackle our housing crisis. It is also estimated that by developing just 5.2 per cent of the existing Green Belt, we could build 1.4 million homes. Everybody knows the UK is in the throes of a housing crisis, yet we refuse to [...]
Analysts warn Rishi Sunak: Treasury’s pensions raid could be ‘hugely risky’ June 21, 2021 The Treasury is eyeing pensions taxation as one way to pay for the cost of the pandemic, it was reported this morning. Although there are no plans to make changes to the triple lock, the Treasury is looking at three ways to change the ways in which pension contributions are taxed, which some analysts have [...]
Staff crisis in hospitality: Act now or risk being the next France June 15, 2021 The hospitality sector is in the midst of a staff crisis. We always knew that staffing would be a challenge with full reopening post-Covid, that not everybody would return to work after furlough. Many of our French and Italian staff went back home during lockdown and had decided not to return to the UK or [...]
How tech and medical advances are transforming healthcare investing June 14, 2021 Healthcare innovation specialist John Bowler explains the revolution going on in the sector. Covid-19 aside, what other issues are emerging that will reshape the healthcare sector? The main drivers of healthcare remain unchanged: there is accelerating demand for healthcare services as people are increasingly living longer. Governments around the world face budget pressures with the [...]