Making millennials happy is good for business November 2, 2016 I know what you’re thinking: another column about millennials. This one, I hope, strikes more of a chord because it’s about their impact on your business and how to respond. This generation is shaking up the workforce in a way not seen for decades. Our research suggests that three quarters of managers see the challenge [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on what to do with all those extra prawns you’ve got lying around October 26, 2016 As a kid I used to fish for prawns in the autumn and winter months off the end of the pier in West Bay with drop nets. Occasionally it would be quite productive, but more often than not I would barely get enough for a prawn cocktail. Commercial prawn fishermen are hard to find down [...]
David Harrison, co-founder of Positive Solutions and True Potential, talks tin baths, skinny men with beards, Boris and why we need a Super Isa January 23, 2017 An article was doing the rounds on Twitter last week: Don’t let Boris Wooster bugger up Brexit. This is how David Harrison, founder of two multi-million pound financial services firms and former builder, feels about our irrepressible foreign secretary. “He’s not helping Theresa, is he? A loose cannon who walks on sounding like he’s just [...]
You’re probably lying about how much you eat (but the whole country is too) August 8, 2016 The nation is in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to the problem of obesity. The number of people who are overweight is rising, but people say they are eating less. How to explain this puzzle? Now, researchers at what was formerly the government's so-called nudge unit, have identified the potential crux of the problem [...]
‘Supermarket giants doomed’ – no, just history repeating February 2, 2018 Investors, analysts, journalists or other market commentators often become convinced some scenario or trend definitely will or will not play out. Check back a few years later, however – always anyone bothers – and that certainty may prove unwarranted. Three or four years ago, for example, many were arguing it was ‘game over’ for supermarket [...]
OAP (Old And Partying): UK pensioners have higher average incomes than their working age children, and spend more on having fun February 15, 2017 For the silver generation, this truly is a golden age. Two reports released in the last week indicate that pensioners have never had it better. The first, Tilney’s “The Cost of Tomorrow”, debunks the myth that supposedly frivolous twenty-somethings spend more on having fun than retirees, either in absolute terms or as a percentage of their [...]
Why Tesco could be better off leaving Booker on the shelf February 1, 2017 The stock market’s initial reaction to takeover deals can often be a poor indicator of how those deals work out. Just look at the market’s sceptical response to Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos owner Home Retail Group as a recent example. Now we have another unexpected deal in the supermarket sector with Tesco bidding to take [...]
The rising tide of inflation: Investment ideas to protect your portfolio February 8, 2017 Inflation is a real bogeyman for investors, and it rankles most when you don’t see it coming. Few predicted the oil price rebound at the end of last year – a big influence on prices – or the optimism which caused yields to rise after Donald Trump’s election. The threat that rising prices will erode wealth [...]
Breaking EU up will take time to do: Brexit will go on for years January 25, 2017 As expected, the Supreme Court has told the Prime Minister that she needs to get the authority of Parliament before moving forward to remove the rights of EU citizenship from the British people in line with the referendum result. She should have done this from day one. Even the most devoted of Theresa May’s fans [...]
Fancy some stargazing? Hop on a plane to La Palma, the most stellar of the Canary Islands November 17, 2016 The farthest of the Canary Islands from the coast of Africa has just 80,000 inhabitants, and 150,000 visitors per year. Unlike its rocky neighbours, there is enormous variety on the island, with mountains above the clouds, black sand beaches and a night sky that has made it a must see for astrology lovers the world [...]