Carpetright’s founder Lord Harris to retire May 21, 2014 CARPETRIGHT announced yesterday that its founder Lord Harris would be retiring from the board in September along with his son Martin, spelling an end of an era for the family-run group. Lord Harris, 72, will hand over the day to day running of the business to a new chief executive, Wilf Walsh, in July. He [...]
The world’s poorest man has handed himself in to French authorities May 19, 2014 Jerome Kerviel, the ex-Societe Generale trader who has more debt than anyone else in the world, has turned himself in to French authorities to begin a three-year jail sentence. His return home is something of an end point to a saga that goes from huge unauthorised trades on the eve of the financial crisis, to [...]
How the Office for Budget Responsibility could decide Britain’s next government June 25, 2014 THIS summer, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will review its estimates of the supply-side potential of the economy. Not exactly something that will have the tabloid headline writers holding their breath. But the implications of this largely technocratic exercise could be significant in the context of next year’s general election. The coalition staked its [...]
London Report: GDP figures and housing prices reveal recovery October 20, 2013 GROSS domestic product (GDP) figures due on Friday are expected to reveal the UK’s solid recovery prospects, coupled with further good news from Nationwide and Rightmove housing figures earlier in the week. Analysts predict further improvement in the economy, with third quarter GDP expected to rise. “We expect GDP to rise 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter. [...]
City Matters: How British companies can help Latin America unlock its huge potential May 18, 2014 THE EYES of the world are turning to Brazil as “the beautiful game” returns to its spiritual home next month. This is an exciting time for all the teams involved ahead of the World Cup, but also one filled with major challenges and opportunities – a situation not dissimilar to that facing Latin America as [...]
Christopher Bailey: The Yorkshireman filling Burberry’s boots July 10, 2014 There was a big elephant in the room – or rather on the line – when reporters dialled into the Burberry first quarter conference call yesterday. The luxury group’s new chief executive Christopher Bailey was conspicuously absent, as he was in May during the preliminary results call, leaving finance chief Carol Fairweather to lead the [...]
Wolfson Economics prize: Shortlist for garden city design revealed June 4, 2014 LORD Simon Wolfson’s £250,000 prize for the best design of a garden city now has its five finalists, with a shortlist announced yesterday. In total, there were 279 entries to the competition, each providing a 10,000 word essay to support their case. The five now shortlisted as potential winners come from town planning, development, urban [...]
ACCA Comment: For women in business, small steps are no longer enough July 16, 2014 We must fire on all cylinders for gender equality to happen. As an analogy for the barrier women face to career progression, the glass ceiling has been around for so long that it seems unusually robust for something supposedly so fragile. Yes, more women are breaking into the higher echelons of business and [...]
Top ten budgeting apps: balance your books with tech downloads March 19, 2014 Now you’ve finished reading about The Budget, have you thought about your own finances? Look no further because technology has the solution. Melissa York introduces the apps that will get you back in the black METER READINGS 99p, Apple App Store Never have an unexpected or inaccurate utility bill land on your doorstep again by keeping [...]
Letters to the Editor – 26/03 – Personal liberty, Best of Twitter March 25, 2014 Personal liberty [Re: Pension reforms mark a welcome move towards individual liberty, yesterday] You only have to look to Switzerland, where there is a real sense of personal responsibility, to see the importance of handing power back to the people. It has a very stable political system, based on decentralisation and frequent referendums. And the [...]