The Christmas Quiz: Twelve questions to test your grey matter December 14, 2022 Roll up, roll up, for the City A.M. quiz in association with Deloitte's economics team. Twelve questions, all (just about) related to business and economics
Truss has picked the wrong fight: the problem is inflation, not lack of growth October 13, 2022 In her speech to what was left of Tory party conference, Liz Truss promised that her priority was “growth, growth, growth”. The events of the past week have underlined why that is the wrong priority, at the wrong time, by the wrong prime minister. Much has been made about the prime minister’s ideological convictions but [...]
UK economy ambles into period of sluggish growth April 11, 2022 The UK economy has entered what is expected to be a protracted period of sluggish growth, official figures released today reveal. The early signs of inflation and tax hikes dealing a heavy blow to Brits’ spending are emerging in new GDP figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today. The economy grew just [...]
UP THE JUNCTION: Why Clapham’s pubs seem to be recession-proof May 8, 2023 Few London neighbourhoods can stir up conversation like Clapham does. Known for its cringey nightclubs and spawning array of trendy coffee shops, the region has long served as a first home for junior account execs and recruiters arriving in the capital to begin their careers and get a taste of city life. It’s also got [...]
Zopa Bank: Surviving recessions, battling digital banks and whether it will float in London this year January 9, 2023 Zopa is a firm that has weathered economic crises before. When the global financial crisis swept through the economy in 2008, the London-headquartered fintech was a little-known but early-moving peer-to-peer (p2p) lending shop connecting borrowers with willing investors. Banks had unsurprisingly reined in loans and hauled up the barricades, leaving consumers scrambling for cash through other [...]
Young workers cooped up in flats have budgets squeezed by home working February 14, 2022 Young renters cooped up in small flats amid working from home orders during the pandemic have had their budgets squeezed, revealed official figures released today. Almost every person in the UK living in rented housing was hit with higher energy bills, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Younger workers just starting [...]
Businesses need to stop looking for a public pat on the back and gold stars July 13, 2023 Businesses must realise that just bragging about how good they are is not a great communication strategy. They won't win a gold star for just doing their job, writes Simon Neville
If we want Britain to be the next Silicon Valley, we need an Open University for skills November 30, 2022 The UK has a proud history as a technology pioneer: from the steam engine to the worldwide web, British inventors have been at the forefront of technologies that have transformed lives across the world. But today our status as one of the world’s leading science and technology hubs is under threat. Digital skills shortages, which [...]
Rishi Sunak needs to tell a story if he wants to keep a hold on the economy March 23, 2022 In an interview with the Sunday Times earlier this month, Gordon Brown gave a quote that was both reflective of his past failings and the challenge that lies ahead for Rishi Sunak. “I’m afraid we didn’t win the argument. You learn as you get older, or at least more experienced, that the facts are not [...]
Forget the IMF, the Bank of England are the real doomsters in this UK recession merry-go-round February 2, 2023 This week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) became public enemy number one for saying the UK will be the only rich economy to suffer a contraction in 2023. Even Russia, hobbled by sanctions to punish it for its invasion of Ukraine, is poised to squeeze out more growth than Britain this year, the lender of [...]